Love In Strange Town
by TwitterBug
Summary: Jack Carter is the new sheriff of Eureka.When he meets Nathan Stark he finds he has feelings for the man.Will Nathan return them?Will they ever get past their issues and get together?Can they do so while saving the town week to week?
1. Welcome To Eureka Jack Carter

DISCLAIMER---I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS , NAMES , PLACES OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA---SADLY---I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER---SIGH....

Welcome to Eureaka , Jack Carter

Jack was trying to remember just how he had ended up in this situation. It really wasn't that hard to recall the events that led him here , but he was more questioning what he had ever done to deserve such a thing. He had been transporting his fugitive daughter , Zoe , back to LA when they had crashed in this little town. _All thanks to that damn dog._ You'd swear they never heard of animal control around here. The car would take days to repair. He just had to step in to help when a young boy had gone missing , but that had led to more than he ever wanted to know about the quite little town. A town comprised solely of scientists makes for some weird problems.

He had met the sheriff and Allison Blake. She was attractive of course , but a little bit of a control freak. Working for the DOD explained that though. Jack had found the little boy in minutes , but the reason behind the gaping holes popping up around town was a little harder. Jack barely understood half of what they were talking about , but he had helped them track down the culprit. Sadly he had been killed trying to fix the mistake that his machine had created. Once the car was fixed he and Zoe were on their way. Imagine his surprise when he returned to LA only to learn that he had been promoted from US Marshall to sheriff of the small town. It really sounded more like a demotion than anything.

Still , they said jump and he said how high. Now he was here in Eureka ready to become the new sheriff. His deputy , Jo Lupo , wasn't really happy that she had been passed over and she didn't care if he knew about it. There had been a few changes since he had left and returned. The head of the research facility , Global Dynamics , had been replaced. A man named Nathan Stark was filling the seat of the head of GD. Jack had yet to meet him , but it was in his job description for some reason.

Today wasn't going as planned. He had hoped that the incident that he had encountered when he first landed here was a one time rare freak accident. _Boy was he wrong._ After he had left , Walter's wife had committed suicide , leaving behind the young child that he had helped find. He was in the care of Allison Blake right now , enjoying playing with her autistic son , Kevin. They had the dual funeral this morning and he was currently sitting in the office with Jo talking to some bone head , trying to get his stuff sent to him. It wasn't going like he planned. Just as he was getting some where , the other line began ringing. He shot Jo a pointed glare. She chose to ignore him.

"You gonna get that , Jo?" He asked. She just glared at him.

"Your the sheriff. Why would they want to talk to _me_?" She asked , being rather childish about the whole thing. Jack took a calming breath and tried again.

"Please , Jo." He pleaded with her. She sighed and picked up the phone.

"Sheriff Carter's office." She answered. Jack smirked in victory. "You might want to take this." Jo said interrupting his argument with the man on the other line. Jack sighed again in annoyance. All he wanted was his stuff back.

"Can you hold on a minute? Sheriff Carter." He said switching lines. He listened as the person explained their problem. He glared at Jo before laughing sarcastically into the phone. "A ghost? Really? Is this prank the new sheriff day? Sure it was. Thanks. Goodbye. Hello? Hello?" He said ending one conversation and trying to get back to getting his property back. The other line was dead though. They had hung up. _Dammit!_

"Nice one , Jo. I was this close to getting my stuff back and you interrupt me with a prank call." Jack ranted.

"Carter , do you really think that a town full of scientists are going to be prank calling people?" Jo pointed out. He had to admit , she had a point.

Before they can get any further in their argument they are interrupted by the sound of the door closing. They both look up and nearly fall out of their chairs in shock. Standing before them is a very much alive Susan Perkins. She looks unconcerned at their reactions.

"Where is Walter?" She asks. Jack shares a look with Jo. They have no idea what to say to this. They buried them both this morning. Jack decides to take the lead on this one.

"He's dead. Who are you?" He asks thinking that maybe Susan was a twin. His hope in that theory rises.

"I'm his wife. I get a call last night from my parents claiming that they had heard on the news that I was dead. Now does someone want to tell me _what_ is going on here?" She says looking between Jack and Jo.

"That's what I'd like to know." Jack says as they stare at the woman.

A quick call is placed to Allison and soon Susan is explaining that she married Walter out of college and they split after he was offered a job in Eureka. She has no idea who the woman was that they buried , but it damn sure wasn't her. She's never stepped foot in this town till this morning. She also adamantly denies the fact that she had a son with Walter. Allison calls Henry Deacon to order that her body be exhumed.

Jack heads out to help Henry while Allison takes Susan back to GD to get her ready for some tests. They need both bodies to determine who they buried that morning. The whole thing baffles Jack. He oversees the excavation and transport of the body to GD. The only odd thing that occurs while at the cemetary is the car alarm on Jack's jeep goes haywire. Concerned with more pressing matters they ignore it.

Once a GD , the bodies are put in the molecular bio-scanner to see how similar they are. Jack is of course confused by the terms , but Henry explains that it will map out the DNA and determine who is the real Susan Perkins. Before the test can be run , Jack must request permission to use the machine from the new head of GD. Allison takes him to the office and is shocked when the person turns to face them.

"Nathan?" Allison says in disbelief. Jack stands in the background trying to figure out the relationship between them.

"Hello , Allie." Nathan says.

"You're the new head of GD?" She asks.

"Yes. I am. What can I do for you?" He asks.

"The sheriff needs to use the molecular bio-scanner. We have _two_ Susan Perkins' laying in the lab right now. The one we buried and the one who showed up claiming no knowledge of anything." Allison explains.

"Of course. Sheriff..." Nathan says asking for Jack's name.

"Carter. Jack Carter." Jack manages to get out. He has no clue why he is suddenly flustered by the man sitting before him. He shakes the feeling off the best he can.

"Pleasure. Anything else?" Nathan asks avoiding looking at Jack. It peaks Jack's curiousity , but he lets it go.

"No." Allison says and leads Jack out of the office. As they walk through the corridors Jack decides to ask about the obvious tension between her and Nathan.

"So , how do you know each other?" He asks. Allison sighs before turning to him.

"He's my ex-husband." She tells him and continues back down to the lab. Jack stands there a moment longer trying to figure out why that fact bothers him so much. Conceding that he may never know , he follows Allison.

After the tests are run they are all shocked with the results. The body they buried is indeed Susan Perkins. As is the woman in front of them. It seems that Walter was so attached to her that he cloned her after she left him. She is torn between shocked and pissed that he had done this. They call it a day and Allison returns to her son and Brian Perkins. She puts the boys to bed and calls it a night.

In the middle of the night there is a flashing of toys and a shape that enters Kevin's room. It disappears after a few minutes. In the morning Allison finds her son drawing the man that visited last night. Unsure of what to make of it she drops the boys off at school. Jack meanwhile , had an interesting night. Having no place to live yet he has been sleeping in the cell in the office. In the middle of the night Nathan's annoying assistant , Douglas Fargo shows up. After refraining from hitting him , Jack accepts his offer of a house.

Seems that Fargo has been working on a smart house named S. A. R. A. H. She really is a dream house made from an underground bunker. Jack wakes in the morning to a blaring alarm. After placing a call to Fargo the problem is fixed and he heads into work. He finds it funny that a smart house can have problems triggered by a power surge. When he gets in Jo informs him that there was trouble at GD. Nathan Stark was found unconcious in his office. Jack heads to GD.

Allison takes him to the infirmary to see Nathan. When he enters the room and sees Stark his chest constricts at the sight. He pushes the feeling away. He's good at doing that after years of practice. Allison leaves to see Susan , leaving Jack alone with Nathan. He takes in his appearance carefully. Nathan is tall with short black hair and nicely grown facial hair. His muscles are well defined and he's rather attractive for a man. He snaps himself out of his thoughts quickly.

While Jack is pondering over Nathan , Nathan is taking Jack in as well. When he first met the sheriff he was stunned. The man was attractive. It was those thoughts that had caused him to avoid eye contact with him. He had _never_ found another man to be attractive and the thought scared him. Now that he looked closer he noticed the piercing blue eyes that matched the short blond hair. He was almost as tall as him , but not quite. He was _definitely_ still in good shape. The uniform he wore showed that easily. Nathan pushed the thoughts out of his head.

"Sheriff , before I passed out I saw a figure. It was like it was surrounded by electricity." Nathan told him turning his thoughts away from how the sheriff looked.

"Are you saying that it was a _ghost?_" Jack asked sarcastically. Nathan glares at him.

"No , but it wasn't corporeal." He answered. Jack looked confused at his choice of words.

_"Cor-what-eal?"_ Jack asked. Nathan chuckled at the sheriff's ignorance. Not that he thought he was dumb , he was just cute when he said that. He mentally smacked himself for the disturbing thought.

"It means that it wasn't solid." He said simply. Jack digested this information. Jack gets an idea when he remembers Fargo telling him that SARAH was messed up by a power surge. He calls Henry to accompany him while he gets Fargo to run the footage from SARAH at the time of the power surge.

They gather around Fargo's computer watching footage of Jack sleeping when the same figure appears on the screen that Nathan saw. Meanwhile , Allison has offered to take Susan out of town so she can return home. She tries to convince her that even though she didn't give birth to Brian , he is still her biological son. Susan informs her that she wants nothing to do with the child. Allison takes a detour to the school claiming that she has to pick up her son. While sitting in the car Susan sees Brian , but sticks with her decision.

As they watch Brian walking to class they see the figure that has visited Jack and Nathan. Allison calls Jack and he tells her they are on their way. Allison runs into the gym to protect Brian , but is knocked unconcious when she touches the figure. It continues to move toward the frightened boy. Before it reaches him Susan steps in to protect him. The figure stops and she realizes who it is as Jack arrives. Somehow it is Walter. Allison gets checked out while Henry explains what happened to Walter.

When he was trying to fix his mistake with the machine that he built , it thrust him into a different plane. They manage to get him into a device that will help his cells shift back into this plane. Allison is deemed okay and Jack watches as Nathan helps her get home. Feeling the slightest twinge of jealousy , but having no idea _who _it's for. They wrap up the investigation and Jack comes home to find that SARAH won't let him in. Apparently she is angry with him because he was late for dinner and didn't call.

It takes some sweet talking for her to let him in the house. He grabs a beer and reclines in the massaging chair , thinking about how the day really didn't go as planned. His thoughts drifted back to Nathan. The man was _snarky_. He had to give him that. Though it didn't explain the strange feelings Jack had had since meeting him. If he didn't know any better he'd say he liked Nathan. That was impossible though and the thought of it gave Jack a headache. He was content to just kick back and relax. Hoping that the towns problems will take a nice long vacation.

Just as he is starting to relax he is interrupted by a banging on the bunker door. Deciding to himself that is this is another Susan Perkins he may just have to kill her. Otherwise the person interrupting him will be on the bad side of Jack Carter if it isn't an emergency. He peeks at the screen beside the door to see Jo standing outside. Annoyed that he left her to deal with anything he tells SARAH to open the door.

"Jo , I told you. You had whatever came up. I'm off for the night." He says trying to keep calm.

"Yeah , well _this one_ is all yours." She says pulling Zoe into view. Jack is in shock at first.

"What are you doing here , Zoe?" He asks. He was sure that he left her in LA with her mother. She smiles brightly at him before walking past him into the house.

"I'm moving in. Which room is mine?" She asks. Jo gives him a look and leaves. Jack sighs heavily , shutting the door and turning to face the room. To think that all he wanted was to get his stuff back this morning. This day had been a stressful one. First a dead women walks through the door. Then he has to deal with her husband who was shifted to another plane. Add the strange and confusing feelings Nathan Stark evoked in him with Zoe showing up at his door. One thing was painfully clear. _Today did not go according to plan._

OKAY PEOPLE REVIEW , REVIEW , REVIEW....PLEASE....


	2. What I've Forgotten

DISCLAIMER---I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS , NAMES , PLACES OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA---SADLY---I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER---SIGH....

What I've Forgotten

JCPOV

It was quiet in Eureka. A _rare_ time indeed. I had recovered from the stress of the Susan Perkins fiasco. Zoe was settling in nicely. I was still surprised that she had made her way here though. Maybe I was stupid for believing that she had missed me in the years since divorcing her mother. Either way we had a long way to go before we were the perfect father and daughter. The entire town was buzzing with the news that a new scientist would be joining the ranks. Everyone was excited. _Everyone but me. _I knew that it would mean one more brainiac to clean up after.

I was avoiding anything that had to do with Nathan Stark. The man was insufferable. Sure he was hot as hell , but his personality had bled though enough to make me keep my distance. Poor Fargo was his assistant and scared to death of the man. I sure wasn't gonna try to make sense of my feelings toward him when people were terrified of him. It would be suicide. So I was content to stay away from GD and leave any place that Nathan happened to be in. It was working well so far.

Today the new geek was joining the squad and Allison was after me to meet him. That meant going to GD and possibly running into Nathan. That was unacceptable. So I was going over paper work while Jo cleaned the guns. That female Rambo still refused to let me near them. Either way I was keeping busy to keep my mind off of Nathan. The man really was insufferable. Jo's voice brought me out of my musings.

"Did you remember to get Zoe's costume from Vincent?" She asked. _Damn , I forgot!_

"I'll pick it up and take it to her at lunch." I told her , ignoring the implication that I had forgot. Jo only smirked at me. I made my way over to Cafe Diem. I had to hand it to Vincent. The man knew how to please the people. He could make you anything you could dream of. I aggravated him though because I went for simple foods. I walked in and saw Henry seated with a man and a woman that I had never seen around town. I got the costume from Vincent and walked over to say hi to them.

"Henry. How are you today?" I asked.

"Jack. This is my old friend , Jason Anderson and his wife , Kim." Henry pointed to them as he introduced us. I could tell that there used to be something between Henry and Kim. Even if it was over , Henry still looked at her that way.

"Nice to meet you. Sheriff Jack Carter." I introduced myself. With a wave I was off to put Zoe's costume in the car. I opened the back hatch and looked at the costume for the first time. _What the hell were they doing?_ This thing looked like an octopus. As I was pondering the stupid purple thing Henry came up beside me. I turned and noticed that he was alone.

"Hey , what happened to your friends?" I asked as I stuffed the strange costume in the jeep.

"Oh , they have work to do. He has a new force field vest in the works and a test scheduled for later today. There's still a few bugs in it so they went back to work." Henry explained. The thought offered me no comfort. Anything that has bugs still in it usually equals trouble for me.

"What does it do and how can it go wrong?" I asked. Henry laughed at my foul mood directed at the experiment.

"It protects soldiers in the field so they survive attacks. Besides what on earth could ever go wrong?" Henry answered and I paled at the thought.

"In case you haven't noticed all sorts of things find a way to go wrong in this town." I told him. He just chuckled like I was out of my mind. I bid him goodbye and walked back in the office. Jo was still in the middle of cleaning the guns. _She really needed a boyfriend._ The rest of the day seemed to go fine. Until the phone rang. I made Jo answer it as always. She glared , but answered it anyways. I was so close to having a nice lunch break , but that was ruined.

"That was Allison. She wants us up there while their testing. Said it was so that if it worked we could field test them." Jo said as we got in the car and headed to GD. This meant that I was probably going to see Nathan. I really didn't want to deal with him right now.

It was already bad enough that the man evoked certain feelings of lust in me. When he had been touched by Walter and was in the infirmary the way his shirt was unbuttoned just a little drove me wild. I had been dreaming of the man since then. Safe to say that I took _very long_ showers in the morning. _Thank god SARAH let me have some privacy in there._ We arrived at GD and were met by Fargo who led us down to where they would be testing. _Poor kid had it bad for Jo._

"Ahh if it isn't the elusive sheriff. Having a nice day?" Stark asked as we joined the group. I tried to stop the shiver that ran up my spine at the sound of that sultry voice. I tried and failed , but only Jo noticed. She gave me a look , but didn't say anything.

"Yeah. That is until something gets screwed up." I answered not daring to look at him. They started up the force feild that surrounded a vest strapped on a manaquin. It was only visable for a second then they started the test. First was a round of small caliber bullets. Once they were sure that the field held they moved onto larger calibers. It was rather amazing to watch.

Sure , most vests could resist different caliber rounds , but it was incredible that a fifty cal failed to make a mark. I looked around the room and saw the pleased looks on everyone's faces. Everything was running smoothly. Looks like they were going to have a perfect test. That meant that Jo and I would be sporting the vests shortly. Then they got to the fire portion of the test. It didn't even stop the flames. The manaquin was ablaze in a second.

_"Damn it!"_ Jason shouted in frustration. I was sure that even without fire protection the vest would save countless lives. Still I knew that these people were always looking to up the stakes on anything on the market today. _It had to be the best._

"Well , I want that corrected before the test in front of the General in the morning." Nathan told him. He turned and looked at me. He stared at me for a minute before he turned away , a faint blush creeping into his cheeks. I was sure that no one would notice if they weren't staring at him. He turned and walked out of the room without another word.

"Well , I guess you will have to wait till later to use the vests." Allison said before leaving to. I just shrugged at Jo. Jason was looking over everything trying to figure out the problem. Kim walked up to him and tried to say something , but he merely shrugged her off and stormed out of the room. She was left looking hurt , but Henry tried to comfort her. I took that as our cue and led Jo out of the room.

As we walked out of the building I remembered that I was supposed to drop off Zoe's costume. Jo agreed to go back to the office while I ran the errand. I was driving down the road from GD into town when a car came speeding in the opposite direction. Pissed off that the smartest people in the world would risk their lives like that , I flipped on the lights and pulled a u-turn. The car pulled over quickly.

I put the car in park and got out. Walking up to the vehicle I had the feeling that I knew this car. I shook it off until I reached the door. There was Jason Anderson with Beverly Barlow in the passengers seat. I was intrigued by that fact. Beverly ran the local B&B. Of course sometimes she was the resident therapist. Still it didn't excuse the speeding.

"You know how fast you were going?" I asked. They both looked uncomfortable. It made the detective side of me wake up and take notice.

"Sorry sheriff. I was trying to work through my frustration." Jason answered.

"Uh huh." I said. If he chose to cheat on his wife that was his problem.

"It's not like that sheriff. We were having a session." Beverly chimed in.

"Right. Well , you're still getting a ticket." I told them.

"We really can't be seen together." Beverly whispered to Jason. I realized at that moment that I had left my ticket book in the jeep.

"I got to get my book." I said and walked back to the jeep. I found it hiding under the seat and turned back to the car. Jason got out of the car and started walking toward me. My instincts went on high alert.

"Get back in the car." I said watching his every move.

"Look sheriff we can't have it get out that we were together." Jason said. I had had enough at this point. I pushed on the radio in my ear.

"Yeah , Carter." Jo said.

"Yeah , I need some back up out on the road to GD." I told her. I started to write the tag number down.

"Sorry about this sheriff." Jason said and there was a flash. I was standing in the road wondering what the hell I was doing there. I heard a car approaching and turned to see Jo pull up and jump out , gun drawn.

"What's the problem?" Jo asked. I stared at her in confusion. I had no idea why I was here let alone what she was talking about. She seemed to sense my confusion.

"You called for back up. So where's the trouble?" She asked again. I was lost. I had no memory of talking with her since I left GD.

"I can't remember." I told her honestly. She looked at me like I had lost my mind. At that point anything was possible.

Once we got back to the station I had been running everything over in my mind. I brought my ticket book in with me. That was my only clue. I had it in my hand for a reason. Just one that I couldn't remember. I looked over it now. There was a partial tag number. That might help.

"Look at this. It's a partial tag number. I think I was writing someone a ticket when I called you. The only question is who." I told Jo. She looked at the book and went to her computer. She put the numbers in and waited while it searched. I stood behind her. In a few minutes it revealed that there were to many possibilities. I was pissed. That was the only clue. Jo walked over to the window while I tried to remember anything.

"Wait a minute. Try this. 36H-59L." Jo said. I typed the numbers in and was instantly rewarded. The name Jason Anderson flashed on the screen. _Well , that explains who._

"How did you know the rest of it?" I asked her. She merely pointed out the window. Parked in front of Cafe Diem was Jason's car with the tag clearly visable. How the hell was it that I didn't remember anything?

"I passed that car when I was driving to you." Jo said. I was about to say we should go confront him when the door opened and Henry walked in.

"Henry. What brings you here?" I asked.

"I think that Jason did something." He said. I was thoroughly intrigued now.

"Let me guess. You're missing a chunk of time?" I asked. He started at me and nodded.

"Kim and I were trying to fix the problem with the field. I put on a pot of coffee and the next minute Jason walks in a solves it. I bump my hand against the pot and get burnt. It was full. A whole pot of coffee made in seconds." Henry attempts to explain.

"Is it possible that he has some kind of time stopper?" I ask.

"That wouldn't explain why we can't remember." Henry pointed out.

"Well , how about a memory wiper?" I suggested. Henry looked thoughtful for a minute.

"I guess he could. Either way he has something that he's using." Henry conceeded.

"Alright. Then lets go have a talk with him." I say and we walk across the street into the cafe. Jason is sitting alone reading the paper. I walk behind him , Jo takes my left and Henry my right. I lean down to talk in his ear.

"I need you to come with me." I tell him. He looks up to see the three of us. Jo's hand poised over her gun.

"Sorry. That's not going to happen." He says as he stands up. I draw my gun and pull the trigger. Then there's a flash that has nothing to do with my gun. I blink rapidly to clear my head. Henry is standing in front of me holding his arm looking just as confused. Jo takes in the scene and rushes to Henry's side.

"Why did you shoot Henry , Carter?" She asks and I think about the last thing I remember. I was at the office. I have no clue how we ended up here and why I had my gun out. Jo looks at me expectantly.

"I....I don't remember." I tell her.

Back at GD Henry is looked over and is going to be fine. Allison looks pissed. I still have no clue what happened and after everyone is questioned , not a single person saw me draw my gun and shoot him. The whole thing unnerves me. _How can I not remember a thing like that?_ As I'm thinking Allison and Stark walk up. Allison offers me a small smile while Stark looks at me strangely.

"I'm sorry , Carter , but I need your gun." Allison says quietly.

"Really? I'm not gonna massacre the town." I say. Stark actually chuckles , but Allison remains stern. I hand over my gun and walk off.

Jo and I arrive back at the office and I notice something out of place. My ticket book is sitting on the desk. _That isn't right._ I always keep it in the backseat of the jeep. I pick it up and look over it. There is a partial tag number written on a ticket. I look at Jo who is eying me funny.

"Look at this Jo." I tell her and hand her the book. She looks at the page and looks at me confused.

"It's a partial. So you started to write a ticket and changed your mind." She says , obviously not getting it.

"Jo where do I keep my book?" I ask trying again to convey this to her.

"In the backseat." She answers.

"Exactly so what is it doing here? And that partial , I bet that has the answer to what happened." I tell her. She rolls her eyes and goes to sit at her desk. She eyes the computer strangely before looking at me.

"What's the first three numbers on that ticket?" She asked. Now I'm the one who's confused. I look at it and tell her anyway.

"36H. Why?" I ask her. She shakes her head at the computer.

"Because I have a Jason Anderson pulled up that matches that number." She says. I was about to say something when the door opens and Zoe walks in. She looks at me in a way that tells me she's mad and it's directed at me.

"You didn't bring me my costume." She says. _Damn , I forgot about that._ Before I can apologize she speaks again.

"That's okay though because I got a different part." With that she walks right back out headed home I guess. I look back at Jo and remember what we were discussing before.

"Okay. So we are missing chunks of time and it all points toward Anderson. How much do you want to bet that we went to Cafe Diem to confront him and he zapped our memory with a device again?" I ask her. She thinks it over for a minute and agrees with me. I tell her to stay here while I go to GD to talk with Anderson. That way if I get zapped again at least she'll remember.

I walk into GD and head to Stark's office. He needs to know about the whole thing. I walk in without knocking and find him shifting through papers. He looks up and sees me. I feel my breath hitch as I notice that the top two buttons of his shirt are undone. Giving me a nice view of his tanned skin. I try to refocus my thoughts before they get out of hand.

"Can I help you , Carter?" He asks focusing hard on his work.

"Anderson has a device. Something that he's using to make people forget things." I tell him the best I can. He looks at me like I have three heads.

"Sure he does , Carter. Is that why you shot Henry?" He asks sarcastically. It pisses me off.

"Look , I think that we worked it out and went to confront him at the Cafe. He used the device on us to make it seem like I shot Henry on purpose so that he would get away scott free." I told him. He sighed and looked me in the eye.

"There is no such device. You shot Henry for some reason and trying to place the blame on someone else won't help matters." He said getting up to usher me out of his office. I was royally pissed now.

"You just can't even entertain the idea that I may be right can you?" I ask angrily.

"Maybe you've lost your mind Carter. Either way stay away from him." Stark snaps back and I find myself entranced with the way his lips move. I find myself leaning toward him. He is still looking at me and thoroughly pissed off at me now. _I can't control it. _He's just to damn inticing when he's like this. I crash my lips to his and hold it there for a second. Then I remember what I'm doing and who I'm doing it with. I turn and run out of the office and out of GD.

I make it home before the thoughts of what I've just done creep in on me. _I kissed Nathan. _I can't believe that I did that. Even more unbelievable is that I liked it._ Hell , who am I kidding? I loved it. _In fact , my entire body loved it. Especially seeing as how I'm sporting the biggest hard on right now. I bury my head in the pillow and pray that I wake up tomorrow to find that the whole day has been a bad dream.

In the morning I ignore any one in the hopes that I will not be reminded of what I did last night. Henry stops by as soon as I walk in and for a brief moment I'm afraid that Stark sent him. Then I remember that I did shoot the man.

"Henry. I'm so sorry. But I think that Jason is behind this entire thing." I proceed to explain everything that Jo and I discovered when we returned to the station and the theory that we have about the shooting. Henry believes us. Now we make a plan to confront him. I got the idea when I walked downstairs to find Zoe practicing and a kid filming the whole thing.

We go to GD and get Stark. I avoid his eyes and he does the same. Jo tells him what we plan to do. He agrees to come with us and we walk to his office and call Jason up. While we're waiting I glance at Nathan and find him staring at me. Before I turn my head I catch the small smile on his face. _Maybe this won't be so bad. Maybe he feels the same way._ I'm pulled back to reality when Jason walks in the door.

"I never though you would steal from me. I trusted you. What else have you done that other people did first?" Henry asks. Jason takes us all in.

"You can't honestly believe them?" He asks Stark.

"Of course I do. Now where is the memory wiping device?" Stark asks coldly. Jason bows his head and sighs.

"I guess I need to wipe your memory further." He says as he pulls something out of his pocket. Next thing I know we are all standing there in confusion. Allison walks in a minute later and rips my shirt open. At first I'm shocked at her behavior. Until I look down and find the camera. Curious I look at her for answers. We follow her and watch what has been recorded. Jason is testing the vest at the moment.

We all walk down to confront him , but are stopped by Kim. She looks at us apologetically then we are standing there wondering what happened. I run a hand over my chest and feel something. Opening my shirt I find the camera. In Allison's hand is a portable screen. It doesn't take long to figure out that Kim has realized what Jason has been doing and plans to get revenge. We make our way down to the testing facility. Jason is already strapped up and waiting for the first round.

"Wait!" I scream.

"We're testing sorry." Jason responds. Stark steps in.

"Kim has your memory device. I bet she used it on you. Do you really trust her to go through with the test?" He asks. Jason looks at her.

"I only turned the power down. Just enough so that it would hurt. He stole so much from me." Kim explains. Jo takes them both away. I stand there thinking over what I have been forced to forget. I look over at Stark and feel like there's something with him that I should remember.

"Do you feel like there's something that happened between us that you should remember?" I ask. He looks at me for a minute and nods.

"I guess we'll never know." He says and walks out. It bugs me the rest of the day , but I know that I can never retrieve that memory so I let it go. Jason is stripped of his discoveries and sent away. Kim was released since she didn't really do anything. Zoe's play goes off without a hitch. It is a strange one though. I wait for her outside thinking once again about Stark. I barely notice when he walks up beside me.

"I'm sorry that I didn't believe you." He says. I look at him. It's the first time I've heard him apologize. _I like this new side of him._

"That's alright." I say. He just nods. We stand there in silence for a while. I can feel the heat coming off him and it makes my heart accelerate.

"Goodnight , Jack." He says and walks off. I stare after him.

"Goodnight , Nathan." I say to his retreating back. Amazed that he has actually called me by my first name.

GOOD GOD THAT WAS LONG....PLEASE SOMEONE REVIEW....I LIKE IT WHEN YOU REVIEW...MAKES ME FEEL LIKE PEOPLE ACTUALLY LIKE THE STORY...DON'T MAKE ME BEG....


	3. Beam Me Up , Scotty

DISCLAIMER---I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS , NAMES , PLACES OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA---SADLY---I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER---SIGH....

Beam Me Up , Scotty

NPOV

Work was overwhelming. Sure I loved being the head of GD , but that didn't mean that I didn't enjoy a little peace every now and then. It's nice to run the facility that puts out the largest amount of weapons and everyday improvements. Still it all comes with a price. Sometimes the smartest people can do the stupidest things. Like when Fargo gets his hands on something. That man will be the death of me one day. At least I don't have to handle them all. That's what sheriff Carter is for. If Fargo doesn't kill me , he will.

The first time I laid eyes on the new sheriff I swear my heart skipped a beat. Although , I would never admit that to anyone. He is rather attractive , but his other traits seem to override that. I swear he makes up his own vocabulary. _Who says things like 'memory wiper' ?_ **Dammit , I'm** **doing it again!** I swore I was gonna keep that infuriating man off my mind. I have bigger issues at the moment then what the sheriff does to me.

Congressman Faraday will be arriving tonight to assess how worthy we are of another year of government funding. I hate this time of year. Some crappy politician comes and has final say on whether or not we get to keep working on our research. They could at least send a scientist who understands what we do here. I think sometimes they come up with things like this to piss me off. Fargo better have that new project running perfectly for the demonstration tomorrow. _I wonder what Jack's doing? _**Dammit!**

JCPOV

I'm gonna kill her. I really am. _How the hell am I supposed to do my job if I can't use the guns? _Rules my ass. I know she's just doing this because they hired me as sheriff and not her. I really don't think it's fair to take it out on me when I had no control over any of it. She's almost as maddening as Stark. I still feel like something happened that I should remember. _No , Jack!_ Not thinking about him.

"Well , you scored higher then last time , Carter." Jo says interrupting my thoughts.

"Yes!!" Now I can finally play with the guns.

"But not high enough." She says with that evil smile of hers. _Dammit!_

"Come on , Jo." I whine at her.

"Sorry , but rules are rules." She says smugly. _Would this classify as justifiable homicide?_ I mean really. It's ridiculous. Before I can complain anymore the phone rings. I just glare at her. I'm not answering the damn thing. She sighs and answers it. **Ha!**

"Sheriff Carter's office.....okay I'll send someone out....goodnight." Jo hangs up and looks at me. I know that look. She wants something. _You can resist her , Jack. You can do it._

"That was a noise complaint. Seems that Spencer's movie night is a little loud. How about taking care of that?" She asks with a sweet smile on her face. _Like I'm falling for that! _There's _nothing _sweet in her. It's all dark evil.

"Nope. You take it." I tell her. She frowns at me.

"Just so you know , my shift was over thirty minutes ago." She says with a smirk. _Dammit!_

"Fine. Call SARAH and let her know I'll be home late." I tell her and head out. _Stupid Spencer._

I pull up to Spencer's trailer. I'll never understand why the kid lives in a trailer when this town can make a smart house. On second thought , who wants to be yelled at by their house all the time? I can feel the vibrations coming from the house all the way in the car. Probably going to blow their eardrums out one day. I walk up to the door and knock. Not that they're gonna hear me anyway. I wait a minute and walk in. Spencer , Taggart , Fargo and Vincent are all gathered around a rather impressive tv. I walk up behind them.

**"HEY!!"** I yell over the sound. They all jump at the sound of my voice. Spencer hits pause.

"Hi sheriff Carter. What brings you by?" He asks.

"Well , got some complaints about the noise." I tell him.

"Sorry , it's movie night. Would you like to join us?" He asks._ Hmm , I am off now. Why not?_

"Sure , but you got to tone it down. What are we watching?" I ask.

"It's called They Came To Conquer. Aliens come to Earth and take over." Fargo explains excitedly. I settle in for a relaxing movie. Two hours later I make my way home , hoping that Jo called so I don't have to argue my way in the house.

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NPOV

The congressman landed last night and was , of course , eager to review some of our projects. I was ready to get it over with. There is nothing I hate more than some pompous ass telling me what to do. I already have enough to take care of without adding the congressman to the list. Fargo is in charge of the demonstration for his visit. Just to be on the safe side I asked Allison to help him. Fargo has a tendency to mess up big time. Speaking of Fargo , he should be here.

_"Yes , Mr. Stark."_ My assistant answers.

"Find Fargo." I tell him.

_"Yes , sir. The congressman has arrived. Do you want me to send him to your office?"_ He asks.

"No." I tell him. I end the conversation and head out to the lobby.

I spot him waiting , looking around at what he can see of the facility. Speaking with him is Allison. Years of being married to her has given me an insight to her facial expressions. It's clear that there is a problem. I just hope that it has nothing to do with the demonstration. Or anything that requires Carter. I can't take seeing him right now. I walk up to them.

"Ahh , Dr. Stark. How are you?" The congressman asks.

"Just fine , congressman Faraday. Are you ready for a tour of Global Dynamics?" I greet him.

"I really can't wait. Miss Blake was telling me that you have a demonstration scheduled for later." He says.

"We do. It's a nice little project we've been developing for the military." I tell him. I see Allison give me a pointed look. That means that the look she had on her face has to do with the project.

"I look forward to it. Shall we start the tour?" Faraday asks.

"Yes. Dr. Blake will show you around. I have a lot of work to do at the moment so you'll have to excuse me." I inform him.

"That's understandable." He says.

"Can I have a word , Nathan?" Allison interrupts. I nod and walk away a few steps.

"Fargo is missing and the project isn't ready yet. Dr. Johnson is trying to get it ready , but Fargo was the lead on it and she isn't as experienced with it." Allison tells me. This was what I was fearing. If we don't show that we deserve the money then we'll have to close many projects.

"I'll deal with it. Show the congressman a good time till I fix this." I tell her and head off to find Fargo.

First I call the little twit , but I don't get an answer. It really isn't like him to not show up. Especially on an important day like today. Seeing how much I need him I decide to have the sheriff track him down. When he does get in I'm going to kill him. I call Carter.

_"Sheriff Carter's office."_ Jo answers.

"Jo , it's Dr. Stark. I need you to track down Fargo. He didn't show up for work." I tell her.

_"That's the third one today."_ She says.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

_"Well , Carter's missing and Spencer too."_ She tells me. My heart skips a beat at the news that Carter's missing. I dismiss it as worry for everyone.

"Get Henry to help you." I tell her and hang up.

This whole thing is fishy. Three people missing means somethings going on. I get the feeling it's not good.

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Six hours later and Jo has informed me that not only are Fargo , Spencer and Carter missing , but Taggart and Vincent as well. They all were last seen at Spencer's for movie night. Carter responded to a noise complaint last night. Sarah hasn't seen Carter since he left this morning and no one has seen the others. This is getting out of hand.

The project seems to be complete , but it still isn't working and I can't find the problem. The subliminal message doesn't have any effect on the test monkeys. I need to get this project working. I keep worrying about Carter , but I manage to push it away every time it comes to mind. I have no idea why that man has gotten under my skin , but it's getting harder to ignore the feelings he invokes in me. I think I need therapy. The phone brings me out of my thoughts.

"Stark." I answer.

_"We found Spencer."_ Jo tells me. Thank god. Now we can get to the bottom of this.

"What about the others?" I ask.

_"No sign yet. Spencer claims that he was abducted by aliens last night. We found him naked in the middle of a crop circle."_ Jo explains. That has to be the stupidest thing I have ever heard.

"Aliens don't exist." I tell her.

_"We know that , but he thinks that it happened. Apparently he bounced a signal off one of your satellites to watch a movie last night. After that we have_ _no idea." _She says. **Oh my god.**

"Damn it! That satellite had a signal carrying subliminal messages. It's for a project to make the enemy paranoid. They all got it instead of the test monkeys." I tell her. At least that explains why the project wasn't working.

_"I'll try to track down the rest of them."_ She says.

I make my way down to the lab. When we round them all up we'll have to have a way to reverse it. I get to work and just as I finish it Allison comes in. I look at her face and know I'm not going to like what she has to tell me.

"The congressman was abducted by Taggart. He's being held hostage in his cabin." She tells me.

"Well , there goes the grant money." I say and head out for Taggart's.

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The scene at Taggart's isn't pretty. Swat has the place surrounded. Guns are trained on the house looking for someone to take down to save the congressman. Jo instructs them. I walk up to her.

"What's the situation?" I ask.

"All our missing people are holding the congressman inside. They seem to believe that he is an alien in disguise. Spencer told us about the _'spaceship' _that landed last night. Henry and I found the movie they were watching. Apparently your signal crossed with the movie made them believe it was real." Jo said.

"What's the plan?" I ask. This couldn't get any worse.

"Shoot anyone we see till we get him out safely." She says grimly.

My heart drops. Carter's in there. If they shoot everyone he'll die. I can't let that happen. I don't understand why , but I want him to be okay. I can't even think about him being killed. My breath hitches at the thought. Jo looks at me funny. I can see that she's trying to understand me reaction. I don't even understand it. Maybe there's another way.

"Let me go in and try to talk them down." I suggest.

"I can't do that. It would put you in danger." She says.

"Would you rather shoot them?" I ask. She looks torn.

"No. Just be careful. If you can't do it , we're coming in." She tells me.

I walk toward the door. Taggart has a video system to monitor who shows up at his door. I need to talk my way in.

"Taggart." I say into the camera.

"What do you want?" He answers.

"Can I come in?" I ask. There's silence for a minute before I get an answer. The door opens and I walk in. I find them in the basement , crowded around the congressman tied to a table. I spot Jack and god does he look hot. He's dressed in regular clothes. Way better than his uniform. I push the thoughts out of my head. I have enough to deal with without adding the strange attraction I have for the sheriff.

"What do you want?" Jack asks.

"I need you to let the congressman go." I tell them. They cock the guns they are holding.

"No. He's one of them." Taggart says.

"Look , you were all watching a movie about aliens and Spencer used the GD satellite that had a signal we developed for military purposes. You got it instead and it's made you paranoid." I explain.

"No. He's an alien , come to take over." Fargo says.

"Which story seems more likely to be true. The congressman is an alien or you have all been given a subliminal message to make you believe that the movie you watched was real?" I ask them. They all exchange looks.

"What about the ship that landed last night?" Jack asks.

"That was the congressman's helicopter. He arrived last night about the same time the movie was over." I tell them. The take time to think it through. Taggart , Fargo and Vincent seem to believe me. Jack isn't sure.

"Fargo , Taggart , Vincent. Go outside and wait for us." I tell them. They leave without a word.

"Will you let the congressman go? You'll still have me here." I try to negotiate with Carter.

"Fine." He says and unties him. The congressman runs up the stairs. Now it's just me and Carter.

"Jack. Will you let us reverse this?" I ask gently.

"Why can't I get you out of my head?" He asks._ I'm at a loss._

"I don't understand." I tell him.

"I keep thinking about you and I doing things. I don't understand it. Why are you in my head?" He asks. My heart skips at the revelation that he's thinking about me , but I need to focus on getting him better.

"I don't know , but if you come back to GD with me we can figure it out." I tell him.

He stares at me with a look in his eye that I don't recognize. Suddenly he runs at me. First I think he plans to hurt me so I try to figure out how to get away. Before I can come up with anything his lips are on mine and I sigh at the contact. His lips are soft as they move against mine. I wrap my arms around him insticntually. I hear him moan at the contact. I still don't understand the feelings I have for him , but at the moment I don't care.

He runs his hands down my body and they come to rest at my hips. A jolt of pleasure runs through me. I can feel my cock hardening. I need to stop him even though I don't want to. He needs to get help. Just as I'm about to pull away from him he bucks his hips into mine and I feel his erection grind into mine. I can't contain the moan that bubbles in my throat. It feels so damn good. But I need to stop it. I pull back and he whimpers at the loss.

"We need to get you help." I tell him.

"Okay. I'll go." He says and we make our way back outside. Thankfully my erection is gone by the time we reach the crowd. Carter is loaded in the car with the rest of them to be taken back to GD. Now I just need to deal with the congressman.

"I have been told what happened and even though I was almost killed I will still give my approval. You have your funding." The congressman tells me. We all head back to GD.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It's been two days since the hostage situation and I haven't seen Carter since. I'm afraid to. I still don't understand things between us. Allison has told me that he seems to be avoiding coming here as well. I don't blame him. I have no idea if the kiss we shared was really him or some side effect of the project. Everyone was returned to normal and we got our grant money. The kiss that I shared with Carter is constantly on my mind. I try to keep the thoughts it provokes at bay since that leads to a little problem that isn't good to have in public.

I'm not sure if I want to talk to Carter yet. I try to avoid any place in town he may be. I need to work out my feelings for him first. Still I know I can't avoid him forever. One day there's going to be some screw up that puts him right back here. Then I'll have to talk to him even if it's not about what happened. I just wish I knew what he was thinking.

JCPOV

I can't believe that happened. Not only did I try to kill the congressman , but I kissed Nathan. I'm confused as hell. Yes , I find him attractive , but I'm not gay. I mean come on. I had a wife. I got a kid to prove it. I really enjoy sex with women. Nathan is something I can't figure out. That kiss was mind blowing. I know that he enjoyed it. I can still remember feeling his erection against mine.

I can't bring myself to see him yet. I've seen Allison and she knows that something's weird. The look she gave me when she mention Nathan said it all. She knows it has to do with him. Even if she doesn't have all the details. Jo is just as bad. She constantly asks what happened in Taggart's basement. I can't tell anyone. It gets worse at night. I lay there in bed and think about it all. Every morning I wake up to a hard on. _Dammit , I'm hard now. _Well , I don't see the harm in taking care of it now. Zoe's asleep.

I reach down and grasp my hard cock. _Oh god that feels good._ I stroke it to a slow pace , enjoying it. I let my mind conjure up a nice visual. _Nathan naked and writhing beneath me as I bury my cock in his ass. _I increase the pace. _He's screaming in pleasure and begging me to cum in his ass._ I'm almost there. _I thrust harder into him and he's whimpering my name._ I'm fixing to explode. _It's so damn good._ I feel my cock twitch and I explode all over my hand.

_"Nathan."_ I call out as the first burst of cum hits my hand.

"Would you like me to call Dr. Stark , sheriff?" Sarah asks , scaring the hell out of me.

**"NO!!" **I yell at her. _Damn smart house._

_SORRY IT TOOK SO LONG TO UPDATE...I HAD A LITTLE WRITERS BLOCK...HOPE YOU ENJOY IT...HIT THE BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM IF YOU DO...  
_


	4. Man Of Steel

DISCLAIMER---I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS , NAMES , PLACES OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA---SADLY---I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER---SIGH....

Man Of Steel

JCPOV

It's been a week since I've seen Stark. In that time I've evaluated my feelings toward the man. _Yes , I find him attractive. Yes , I kissed him. Yes ,_ _I_ _pleasured myself to thoughts of him. _Yet in the time I've had to think about it , I've come to the conclusion that it was all because of that stupid project._ It had to be._ I can't have feelings for Stark. I was married to Abby for years and we were happy. She gave me Zoe.

"Carter!" Allison startles me out of my thoughts.

"Sorry. I was thinking." I tell her. I know she has her suspicions about why I haven't been near GD. _I just hope she's way off_.

"You need to get your physical so we can insure you. You needed to be at GD at 9." She says. _I hate doctors._

"Look that's just tempting fate. You know ,_ 'Insure a cop today , he's dead tomorrow.'_ " I tell her. She gives me a stern look.

"If you don't get the physical , we can't employ you." She said with finality.

"Do I have to?" I whine at her. I _really_ hate seeing a doctor.

Before she could answer , the phone rang. Jo answered as I listened intently. _Please need me._ I wanted to get away. Maybe a case would buy me enough time so she might forget I need to get the damn physical. _A guy can hope._

"That was Carl Carlson." Jo said and Allison nodded in acknowledgment.

"Well , what did he need?" I asked , eager for something to do.

"A ride. He always got a ride to work on important days from sheriff Cobb." Jo explained. _Yes , something to do._

"Well , I guess I'm busy." I told Allison and headed out the door. I made it to my jeep before I realized that I had no idea where the man lived. I sighed and walked back in.

"Where am I going?" I asked. Jo handed me a post it with his address on it. I ran back out and headed to Carl's.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ten minutes later I was pulling up to a decent sized house. A man was standing in the doorway , looking nervous. He came off as odd. I climbed out and walked toward him.

"Who are you? Where's Cobb?" He asked anxiously , backing away as I approached.

"I'm sheriff Carter. I replaced Cobb when he retired. There was a town meeting about it." I explained.

"Okay. I need sheriff Cobb. He always drove me to work on special days." He said and retreated back in the house , slamming the door. I walked up and knocked. Carl opened the door , but frowned when he saw me.

"You're not sheriff Cobb." He stated. _This guy had issues._

"Well , he moved so can I give you a ride or not?" I asked. He looked torn.

"Fine , but I hope your jeep is clean." He replied as he shut the door. Then he did the oddest thing. He checked that the door was locked five times before he walked to the jeep.

"Okay. Let's get you to work." I said.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty minutes later we arrived at GD. Carl Carlson was obviously a germaphobe. It took five minutes before he would get in the car. He had to sanitize the seat. As thankful as I was for the excuse to get out of my physical , I was at my limit with Carl.

"Well , here you are , Carl." I told him and turned to leave , before I ran into one or both of the people I was avoiding.

"But sheriff Cobb always came down to my lab with me." Carl said. I turned around to tell him no and spotted Allison headed my way.

"Okay. Lead the way." I told him. We caught the elevator in time to escape Allison.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Do I really need to wear this?" I asked Carl. I was covered in scrubs from head to toe. I felt like an idiot.

"Yes. I can't introduce any outside organisms." He told me.

"So what are you working on?" I asked.

"Regeneration. I hope to find a way to allow humans to regenerate missing limbs like lizards can regenerate their tails. Now , stand back. I have to put one drop in , no more." Carl said as he carefully positioned a dropper over the beaker sitting inside a machine.

I watched as he carefully let one drop fall. He breathed a sigh of relief. He turned around to look at me and I heard something fall. He spun around and looked down at the beaker. _I had a bad feeling about this._

"Uh-oh." Carl said.

**"Uh-oh?! What does that mean?"** I asked.

"Run!" Carl yelled , but it was to late. I was blasted through the window as the beaker of chemicals exploded and the world went black.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NPOV

It's been a long week filled with thoughts of Carter. That kiss blew me away , but after a week of thought I can see it in a new light. On his part it had to be the project. My part was the one I was confused about. I couldn't have feelings for Carter. I was married to Allison for years. I loved her. Most importantly I _wasn't_ gay.

I was thrust out of my thoughts by an explosion in the building. This wasn't as rare as one would think. Still as head of GD I needed to check it out. I headed toward the scene , following the emergency personnel. Carl Carlson's lab. _What a surprise._

"What happened here?" I asked the nearest person.

"It was my fault , sir. I knocked the vial into the beaker." Carlson said.

"You've caused enough problems around here that I have no reason to doubt it was your fault." I told him.

"We need some help over here!" One of the guys yelled from the next room. The emergency squad ran to help and were carrying someone out moments later.

"Oh my God , Carter." Allison said.

My heart was racing. It was worse than last week. He was cut up from going through the window. He looked so innocent. My stomach clenched at the sight of him so vulnerable , so hurt. I managed to control myself as they carried him off to the infirmary. _That was the last straw._ Carlson had hurt Carter. He had to go.

"You're fired , Carlson. The team will be by shortly." I told him then headed back to my office.

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JCPOV

I awoke in the infirmary at GD. The memory of what landed me here slowly came back to me. I had been with Carl when he knocked the vial over causing an explosion. That threw me through a window. I sat up slowly and looked around. I seemed to be the only one who was injured.

"Carter. How are you feeling?" Allison asked.

"Like I was thrown through a window." I said sarcastically.

"This wouldn't have happened if you had come to take your physical." She said. I preferred to think that this was the cause. _It was a curse._

"Yeah , yeah. Can I go?" I asked.

"Yes , you can. You need to oversee Carlson's expulsion from Eureka. And here." She said and slapped something on my neck.

_"Oww. What the hell?"_ I asked rubbing the spot she had hit.

"That's a portable physical. Don't try to remove it." She said as she handed me my clothes and closed the partition.

I got dressed and walked out. I had no idea what she meant about Carl. I really wanted to stay away from Carl.

"So what did you mean about Carl?" I asked as we walked out of the infirmary.

"He's been fired. That means that a cleaning team will be making sure that all GD materials are returned and then he will be escorted from Eureka. You need to make sure he signs all the paperwork and then take him to the city limits." Allison explained.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I pulled up to Carl's house and was shocked at the activity. There were men everywhere. Taking boxes out of Carl's house as he watched helplessly. I walked up to him.

"Hey , Carl. How are you" I asked.

"I have nothing left. And I have to sign this." He said pointing to a four foot stack of papers.

"Well , do you have a place to stay tonight?" I asked.

"No. I don't even have a toothbrush." He said. I felt kinda bad for him.

"You can stay with me if you want. My house is a smart house so you know it's germ free." I suggested. He looked like he had won the lottery.

"Thank you. I'll be by later." He said. I headed to the house to get his room set up.

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"What are you doing , dad?" Zoe asked as she came in from school.

"We are having a guest stay with us. He should be along as soon as he finishes a mountain of paperwork." I told her as I finished making the bed.

"Why is he staying here?" Zoe asked.

"Well , he was fired and they took his house." I told her. She was about to say something when my phone rang.

"Carter." I answered.

"Sheriff. I won't be needing that room after all." Carl said. _I was confused._

"Where are you Carl?" I asked , worried that he was doing something stupid.

"Da Vinci bridge." He answered. Shit!

"Wait till I get there." I said and headed out the door.

I pulled up on the bridge and found Carl standing over the rail. The idiot was going to jump because he got fired.

"Carl..." I said gently.

"You didn't need to come." Carl said.

"Well , you don't let friends do things like this." I said as I climbed over the rail next to him.

"What are you doing? We aren't friends. No one likes me." Carl said.

"Of course I'm your friend. How about we go and get a beer." I suggested.

"I don't drink beer. A bar is way to dirty." Carl said. Of course he was a germaphobe.

"Well , my fridge has beer. What do you say?" I asked. He thought about it for a minute then nodded.

"Okay. Let's get out of here." He said and started to climb back over the railing. He was almost over when his hand hit one of his wet wipes and he slipped. He grabbed my hand and we both fell. As I fell behind him I thought of Nathan._ Would he miss me when I was dead?_ I should have given it a chance. I hit Carl and the world went black for the second time today.

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I could hear ringing. _Was that supposed to be in heaven?_ I opened my eyes and saw the bridge above me. _I wasn't dead._ How the _hell_ was that possible? I fell at least a hundred feet. _I should be dead._ I looked around for Carl , but he was gone. There was a hole where he hit. _What the hell was going on here?_ I realized the ringing was my phone and answered it.

"Hello." I said. My ribs hurt when I breathed.

"Carter , are you okay? Your vitals went crazy." Allison's voice met my ears.

"I fell. How did you know anyway?" I asked.

"Your portable physical. It seems that you may have broken a bone. What did you fall off of?" She said.

"Just great." I said avoiding the question. "I gotta go." I told her. I needed to find Carl.

I walked back up to the road and after a long time I made it to Henry's. I walked to a chair and called out to him. He emerged from under the hood of a car. He was covered in grease and oil. He looked at me and rushed over.

"What happened ,Jack?" He asked.

"I fell. Have you seen Carl Carlson?" I asked.

"He was here , but he ran off. Did he have anything to do with what happened to you?" Henry said.

"I fell off the bridge after him. I landed on him and when I woke up he was gone." I told him.

"Jack , I think you hit your head pretty hard. No one could have survived that fall and Carl didn't look that bad." Henry said slowly.

"We really did fall from the bridge." I told him. He looked at me like I was crazy.

"Okay , let's get you checked out." He said. We climbed in his car and headed to GD.

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Later that night Allison called to tell me that they had brought Carl in for testing. It seems that he met Stark at Cafe Diem and stabbed his own hand. The freaky part was that it healed itself. I headed out to GD. This may explain why he had survived the fall. I pulled up and made my way in. I ran into Stark on my way to the lab they were holding Carl in.

"Sheriff." He said. I was still avoiding the man so this was awkward.

"Stark." I said. He joined me as I limped toward the elevator.

"Are you okay?" He asked as we got in. I looked at him carefully. He looked concerned.

"Just fell off a bridge." I said and he nodded. We stood in silence as we headed to our floor.

"Look about last week..." He started , but we came to a stop and Allison met us at the door. She didn't look happy.

"Carl's gone. He telekinetically threw stuff at on of the lab assistants and ran. We need to track him down. We need to find him quickly." She said.

"So his brain power is increasing as well as his ability to heal." Nathan said.

"Actually we think that his healing was a part of his increased brain power. We need to get him back here so we can figure out where this is taking him." Allison said.

"I'll start in town. Call if you find him." I told them and left. I wanted to get out before Nathan could talk to me about the kiss last week. I know that I was regretting not settling things when I thought I was going to die , but that conversation scared me. I drove back to town thinking about him.

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I spotted Carl as I pulled up outside Cafe Diem. He was holding his head and muttering to himself. He looked like hell. I walked carefully up to him. I figured that he might listen to me before anyone from GD.

"Carl , are you okay?" I asked. He looked up at me in fear.

"They want to study me. They won't let me go. I need to get away from here." He said frantically. I was stuck by the thought that he must feel like a lab rat.

"They only want to help you. You have no idea what this will do to you." I told him. That was as far as we got when cars pulled up. Security from GD jumped out of the cars along with Stark and Allison.

"Carl , you need to come with us." Stark said.

"I know what your hiding , Stark. Maybe you should tell everyone who you kissed." Carl taunted him. My heart stopped. I didn't want everyone to know what had happened between us. I shot a look at Nathan and he seemed to mirror my thoughts. Suddenly one of the security guys fired the gun he was holding. Carl held up his hand and deflected the bullet. I felt a burning in my chest and looked down.

"Carter!" Nathan yelled and ran to me. I saw the hole in my shirt and realized that the bullet had hit me. I fell toward the ground and felt Nathan's arms catch me.

I watched them tackle Carl to the ground and Allison call for help. Nathan was staring at me with a look of fear on his face. I wanted to erase that look from his handsome face. It didn't belong there. I wanted to tell him that I was fine , but I couldn't speak. Nathan leaned in closer and spoke to me.

"Please be okay. I need you to be okay. I...I..." That was all I heard. The world turned black again. I had a fleeting thought that I really needed to have a day without blacking out before I was lost to the darkness.

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NPOV

Carter passed out and I was scared. I hadn't been able to tell him that I had feelings for him. All the times he had been in danger today put it in perspective. I didn't care that the whole thing was confusing. I needed to let myself follow this where it took me. I wanted to be able to be with him if he would let me. I needed to tell him and the consequences be damned.

He was ripped from my arms and taken to the infirmary. It didn't look good. Carlson was screaming that he could help. I was willing to give him a chance when the doctors said that they couldn't fix the damage. I watched as Carl moved his hands over the wound. He had his eyes shut in concentration and he started to glow. I watched in amazement as the bullet lifted out of Carter's chest and the wound glowed. Just as Carter gasped for breath Carl shimmered and disappeared like smoke. Carter was left alone. I sighed in relief.

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JCPOV

They had told me what had happened after I passed out. It seemed that Carl destroyed himself saving me. I was thankful. I still hadn't talked to Stark about everything that had happened since last week. When I had awoken after getting shot I saw him looking relieved and that was it. We hadn't seen each other since. All the near death experiences let me admit to myself that I cared for him. _I couldn't deny that any longer._ I decided that it was his move. I didn't want to scare him off. When he was ready he would come talk to me. I was glad for the few days off I had. It gave me all the time I could want to fantasize about Nathan. _He really was hot in my mind. _I did learn the first time though not to call out his name or Sarah would wind up calling him one day. _That would be an awkward conversation._

PUSH THE BUTTON AT THE BOTTOM....YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO...


	5. Shoot Me To The Moon

DISCLAIMER---I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS , NAMES , PLACES OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA---SADLY---I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER---SIGH....

Shoot Me To The Moon

NPOV

"I have a surprise for you , Fargo." I told him as we got in the elevator. Fargo looked positively giddy. _That was about to change._

"Thank you , Dr. Stark." Fargo managed to squeak out in his excitement.

"Don't thank me yet." I told him , causing his smile to falter slightly.

The elevator began to move. Fargo watched with rapt attention as the sections illuminated. His excitement grew as we passed through sections one , two and three.

"Section five , sir?" Fargo asked , unable to contain himself any longer. I had to laugh at his enthusiasm.

"You're not _that_ good , Fargo." I told him. He was still the leading cause of most of our mishaps.

We stopped on section four. Fargo followed obediently through the maze of hallways. They were asthetically uninteresting. Pipes snaked along the walls. Signs hung in each new hallway informing you that you were in section four. After half an hour I stopped outside an unmarked door.

"Here we are , Fargo. Your new office." I said as I opened the door.

Fargo surveyed the cluttered room in silence. It was filled with dust covered boxes. Two desks were buried beneath them. The room had no windows and had been shut up for years.

"Well , enjoy it. You've earned it , Fargo." I told him before turning and leaving. As I made my way back to the elevator , I heard him muttering about what he had done to deserve his new office. I smiled at that.

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I was in my office an hour later , unable to concentrate on my work. Carter had once again invaded my mind. He taken up residence there since last week. Since he nearly died. Once he had come to , I had lost my nerve. I couldn't tell him how I felt.

I had admitted my feelings to myself , but my fear was keeping that secret to myself. It had gripped me as soon as he had opened his eyes in the infirmary. Every insecurity I had rushed through me. I am not a man that readily admits his faults , but I had succumb quickly in this case. I knew my weakness was weighing heavily on me. It was a battle between my insecurities and my inability to face my fears.

Questions constantly ran through my mind._ Would he look at me with disgust? Would he hit me? _Or maybe spread the story of how I proclaimed my attraction to him across town. Those weren't even the worst ones. _What if he returned my feelings? What if we dated? _That had led to more explicit ideas._ What would sex be like with him?_

Every night this week my dreams had become centered around Carter and I in erotic situations. A cold shower in the morning had become my new routine. I had indulged myself once or twice and it was easily the best orgasms of my life. My body ached for him , but my mind kept me away.

_"Missile launch in twenty-four hours."_ An automated voice sounded over the intercom. _What the hell?!_

Allison burst into my office , panting. She had obviously run from wherever she had been when the announcement come over the intercom. Her eyes were wide as she tried to get enough air to speak.

"Fargo." She managed to get out._ Damn that man!_

We made our way down to Fargo's new office. He was standing off in the corner , looking guilty. Spencer stood near an ancient machine that they had uncovered. My first thoughts about the machine were not good. It appeared to be a control panel. One from the cold war era. I rounded on Fargo.

"What did you do?" I asked as calmly as I could manage.

"We thought it was a radio. We found the keys in a drawer , but we can't turn it off now. I'm so sorry." Fargo explained in a rush. It made my blood boil. I forced myself to calm down.

The door opened and in walked Jo followed by Carter. My heart rate accelerated and I had to force myself to breath normally. I locked eyes with Carter and felt the blood rushing to my cheeks. I turned my attention to Allison.

"Let's call Henry to help shut this thing off." I told her.

"So I guess you know about the giant missile that rose from under main street." Carter said not meeting my eyes. I was slightly hurt , but I pushed it away.

"Fargo activated the cold war missile system that we didn't know we had." I told him.

"Have you tried to turn it off?" Carter asked. I had to hand it to his ability to ask the obvious. I couldn't help it. I had to tease him.

"No , Carter , we thought we'd just start world war three." I said sarcastically. A look flashed across his face that resembled hurt. I was hit with remorse at my rude comment.

I tried to convey my regret without words as I stared into Carter's eyes. The moment was broken though by Henry's appearance.

"I came to help." He said.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Henry and I worked to figure out how to turn the missile off. Carter and Jo had returned to town to keep the townspeople calm. I had sent Fargo and Spencer to search the boxes of files that Henry had taken. Allison was having the records of GD searched for any information on the missile.

"So what's going on with you and Carter?" Henry asked. My hand jerked . ripping one of the wires out I had been inspecting.

_"Missile launch in twelve hours."_ The voice announced._ Dammit!_

"Why do you ask?" I asked , trying to act as though I hadn't just done that.

"Well , you seem to be avoiding each other. Then there's what just happened." Henry said.

"It's nothing." I said , hoping he would drop it.

"Okay , but you should know that I mentioned this to Jack the other day and he nearly drove into a tree." Henry said before turning his attention back to the control panel.

My mind was racing. _What did this mean? Did he have the same feelings as I did? Or had he simply figured out how I was feeling?_ I wanted to know , but I was scared of what I would learn. I wish I knew what was going on in Carter's head.

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JCPOV

This morning had started off so promising. I had jacked off in the shower to an image of Nathan on his knees. Dropped Zoe off to complete her community service at Eureka's only nursing home. I think it all went to hell around the time the giant missile burst through main street. Now I was sitting at Henry's garage going through files with Fargo and Spencer. Jo was handling the crowd around the missile.

We had searched through mountains of paper for the past hour. So far it was junk. Not a peep about the missile or control panel. My mind kept drifting back to Stark's sarcasm earlier. I know I'm no rocket scientist , but it hurt when he made fun of my question. It was a reasonable one.

I shook off the thoughts. I wasn't going to let him get me down. I may have this unexplainable attraction toward him , but that didn't mean I had to let him get to me. Henry had already unsettled me. I may have avoided suspicion if he hadn't asked while I was driving. I nearly ran us into a tree. _Where was Low-Jack when you needed him?_

I forced my mind back on the task. I picked up the next file and flipped through it. It contained pictures of the moon. Strange enough on it's own , but it went one step further. There was something shining in the pictures. There were also notes that I couldn't understand. Each page was marked with initials._ I. T._

"Can you understand any of this , Fargo?" I asked , handing him the file. He looked through it , a smile growing on his face.

"This is it. We need to get this to Dr. Stark." He replied. I was actually getting used to the way that my heart raced at the mention of his name.

I grabbed the file and headed for GD. Leaving Fargo and Spencer to keep looking in case there was anything else. I smiled as I walked into the room holding the file. Henry and Stark looked up.

"I found it." I said happily. A breathtaking smile broke on Nathan's face. My breath hitched and my heart skipped a beat.

"Okay. It's has an override." Henry exclaimed excitedly.

Henry opened a panel under the controls. He pointed at wires , muttering to himself. Nathan and I watched anxiously. Henry checked and double checked before he picked one. Carefully he clipped the wire and we waited.

_"Missile launch in six hours."_ The voice announced.

"Well , that didn't work." Henry said tossing the clippers.

"Okay. So what does this missile do anyway?" I asked. Henry and Nathan shared a look.

"It was a cold war project. When we landed on the moon , we didn't just go there to walk. While the world watched Neil Armstrong take that 'one small step for man , one giant leap for mankind ' the government was taking a giant leap for defense. They built mirrors on the surface. We already had a missile system that could shoot a beam up , reflect off the mirrors and destroy any target we chose. That's what this will do." Henry explained.

"Okay. So what about the initials? I asked , trying to wrap my head around the magnitude of destruction this missile could cause.

"Well , it's probably the initials of the person who built this thing." Henry replied.

"So how do we figure out who that is?" I asked.

"It could be anyone , Carter." Nathan said.

"What about Dr. Irvin Thatcher?" Henry suggested.

"It's possible , but that won't help us." Nathan said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Irvin Thatcher lives at the nursing home...and he doesn't have a clue who he is let alone how to stop this." Nathan answered. My heart sank at that.

"It's worth a try." I said , even if it was hopeless. I headed off to track down Thatcher.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I ran up the steps of the nursing home. I needed to find Zoe. She would be able to help and I could warn her in the event that we couldn't stop this thing. I could get her out of Eureka. I ran through the sitting room and was stopped by a yell.

"Dad?" Zoe said , puzzled as to why I was here.

"Look , I'm doing what I'm supposed to." She said before I could speak.

"That's not why I'm here. I need to find a Dr. Thatcher." I told her. She looked clueless. We were interrupted by an elderly woman in a wheelchair.

"Did you say that you were looking for Irvin?" She asked.

"Yes ma'am , I did," I said politely.

"Dad this is Eugenia." Zoe said.

"Can you point me to Dr. Thatcher? It's an emergency." I said.

"Why do you need him?" Eugenia asked.

"Well , we need his knowledge to shut down a missile system he developed." I explained. She looked troubled at this.

"He won't be much help. His mind isn't what it used to be." She said pointing to a man walking around talking to himself.

I got Dr. Thatcher in the jeep and headed back to GD. I was praying that he could be some help. Henry had figured out that the only way to shut it down was to enter the abort code. Dr. Thatcher was the only one who had that information. We were running out of time.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrived back in the room to see Allison had joined the effort. She had no luck either. I steered Dr. Thatcher to a chair. Henry and Allison looked hopeful , but Nathan looked skeptical.

"Well , here he is." I said as he sat down.

"Dr. Thatcher , we could use your help. We need the abort code for your machine here." Henry explained. Thatcher looked at the control panel blankly. Just when we thought it was hopeless he spoke.

_"The wheels on the bus go round and round."_ He said in a sing song voice.

"Well , that was very informative." Nathan said.

"Maybe there's another way." Allison said. Nathan looked at her for a minute then scowled.

"No." He said.

"What?" I asked._ I would try anything._

"We've been working on a project to link two people's minds." Allison said.

"We haven't even done human testing yet." Stark said.

"Well , I'm willing to do it." I said. Nathan tried to argue , but I refused to give in. Allison led us to a room with two chairs next to each other.

I was strapped in one and Thatcher in the other. A helmet was placed on our heads and Allison explained the process to me. I listened my eyes locked with Nathan's. I could see the concern in them. For a minute I let myself believe that he cared for me. That he was worried about my safety. They walked into the control room and started the machine.

It was an odd sensation. Images hit me from every direction. They raced past my eyes. It was becoming painful , but I needed to find that code. Each image grew more disturbing. It was those pictures they show to demonstrate the power of a nuclear weapon. The house being blown apart. The mushroom cloud forming as it detonates. Then his voice rang out in the silence. He spoke only one word. Eugenia. Next minute Allison was removing the helmet.

I looked around and saw the concerned expressions they were wearing. I felt my body shaking. It was a truly unpleasant experience. I reached up to touch my face. I could feel that at some point I had started crying. I was slightly embarrassed about that , but when I thought of what I had seen I pushed the feeling away.

"Are you okay , Carter?" Nathan asked. My heart swelled at the concern in his voice.

"Yeah. I'm good." I said trying to give a reassuring smile.

"Did you find the code?" Allison asked.

"No , but I saw what will happen if we can't stop it." I told her , shivering at the images burned into my mind.

I looked over at Thatcher. His mind was chaos. The only clear thing had been the images of him and a woman. What had he called her? Eugenia. I had heard that name before. Then it hit me. I had met her when I went to find him at the nursing home. It was a long shot , but maybe she could help find a way to get through to him.

"I have an idea." I told them , climbing out of the chair.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirty minutes later I was once again running through the nursing home in search of someone. I went floor by floor until I found Zoe. She was being taught physics by two old scientists. I ran up to her.

"Dad , is everything alright?" She asked.

"I need to speak with Eugenia." I told her.

"She's taking a nap. She asked not to be disturbed." She said.

"Thatcher couldn't help us , but I think that she may be able to get him to open up." I told her. She nodded and lead the way to her room.

I knocked on the door and waited. The was no answer so I knocked harder. Still nothing. I opened the door and walked in. After looking in every room I turned and made my way back downstairs. Maybe I had missed her in the sitting room. As we passed a poster I stopped. It was in one of the memories I had seen. Thatcher had proposed to her here.

"Where is this?" I asked Zoe. She looked at the picture.

"This way." She said and lead me out the door.

We rounded a tree in the park and I spotted her. She was sitting in her chair next to the sundial I had seen. I ran up to her.

"Eugenia. I need your help." I said as I walked in front of her. She looked at us in surprise.

"How did you find me?" She asked. I looked at the sundial , feeling everything that he had felt when he had proposed here. I smiled.

"This was where he proposed." I said. She looked at me.

"He was supposed to. He was nominated for the Nobel , but he didn't get it. That was the last time he was himself. He never got a chance to ask me. How did you know that?" She asked , tears in her eyes.

"Let's just say we connected." I told her. I had the urge to kiss her , but managed to resist it.

"I think I have an idea." I told them and we made our way to GD.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We arrived back at GD. Henry and Nathan had decided to try to dig under the panel to get to the back of it. There was a giant hole in the floor. I yelled over the drill to get their attention.

"I think I know how to get Thatcher to remember , but I need your Nobel." I told Nathan. He looked at me like I had three heads. As everything was set up I explained my plan. Nathan was beyond skeptical this time. _He looked cute when he scowled._

We set it up to look like the Nobel awards ceremony. We presented Nathan's to Thatcher and he started with the wheels on the bus again. Nathan was about to give up when he started making sense. He was working his way through the speech had memorized fifty years ago. It was rather good , but we had only an hour left.

We made our way back to the room and were joined by Thatcher's team. The four of them looked over the machine then nodded at each other. They turned the keys together and waited. At first nothing happened. Then it shut down. The room erupted in cheers. I couldn't believe that it had been that simple. Then the voice returned as the control panel lighted up once more.

_"Missile launch in ten minutes."_ It said. The cheers died instantly.

"Did someone cut the wire?" Thatcher asked. Henry raised his hand.

"Well , then it can't be stopped." Thatcher said hopelessly.

I went over the facts in my head. The pictures of destruction burning brightly in my mind. It was going to fire the laser and then it would hit whatever target it was aimed at. The world would respond , sending bombs and missiles everywhere. _It would be the end. _Then it hit me. _What if it missed the mirror?_

"Dr. Thatcher , what if we moved it so it didn't hit the mirrors?" I asked. He thought about it for a minute then smiled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When we stopped downtown I saw that a new missile had emerged from under the road. This one was twice as big as the first. There was no way we could move this thing. I hit the hood of my jeep and it struck me. _What if I drove into it? _I looked questioningly at Thatcher. He was looking between me , the jeep and the missile. He nodded.

"It should do the trick." He said. Nathan looked at me.

"What will?" He asked , but I ignored him and climbed in the jeep.

I reversed fifty feet back from the silo. I took a deep breath and tried to ignore Nathan's screams of protest. I punched the gas and drove straight for it. _The impact was a bitch._ The air bag deployed and I felt like I had hit the damn thing instead of the jeep. Nathan rushed to my side. He helped me climb out and placed his hand on my cheek. I winced as he touched a cut. I was lost in his green eyes before I remembered the reason I was hurt.

"Did it work? "I asked. Henry was watching the beam that had shot out of the end seconds after I hit it.

"Yes! It missed the moon." He exclaimed excitedly.

I noticed Allison staring at the closeness between me and Nathan and stepped away. In the commotion of victory I remembered the pain I was in. I walked to a bench and sat down. I looked around at everyone celebrating. Thatcher and Eugenia were kissing while he clutched the Nobel in one hand. I felt the emotion again and turned to see that Allison had sat down beside me.

"How long till I get my feelings back?" I asked.

"Shouldn't be long. So , you and Nathan..." She trailed off. I tried to keep my face blank.

"I don't know what your talking about." I said looking at Nathan trying to get his Nobel back from Thatcher. I laughed as Thatcher snatched it out of his hands.

"Sure you don't. He feels it to you know." She said then got up and walked off. Zoe took her place and we sat in silence.

"So does this go toward my community service?" She asked. I chuckled and nodded at her.

"I'm sure this get major points." I told her.

"So , you and Stark?" She asked innocently.

_"Oh , for the love of God!"_ I said getting up and walking off. I caught Nathan staring at me as I walked. I wondered. _Could they be right? Did he feel it to? _Right now all I was feeling were my aching ribs. _Just another day in this town ,_ I thought.

I LOVE WHEN PEOPLE PUSH THE BUTTON...IT MAKES ME HAPPY...PLEASE MAKE ME HAPPY....


	6. Speed

DISCLAIMER---I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE CHARACTERS , NAMES , PLACES OR ANYTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA---SADLY---I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER---SIGH....

Speed

JPOV

"Tell me again why I couldn't have stopped for coffee first?" I asked Jo. She knew I was cranky when I didn't get my coffee.

"Look , this woman hit something and I can't find it. If you like we can wait till someone else hits the thing." Jo snapped at me. _Testy today._

"Wow. What happened?" Henry asked as he climbed out of the tow truck.

"Hit something." I told him simply.

"Any idea what?" Henry asked. It was hard to keep my temper in check without my normal coffee fix.

"Jo can't seem to find it." I told him , glaring in her direction. She just sneered right back.

"No coffee this morning." Henry stated. I sent him a glare as well.

I focused my attention on the vehicle. Whatever she had hit had done a number on the car. Fluid was leaking freely from under it and the front end was a twisted heap of metal. Seeing no clue on the car I looked at the scene surrounding us. It was a deserted road with trees lining each side of it. There were skid marks where the car had been turned by the impact. Other than that there seemed to be no evidence of another object. I was starting to question the validity of the woman. Sure there was damage to her car , but she may have hit a tree and claimed that it was something else to avoid trouble. I was about to suggest this to Jo when Taggart came walking out of the tree line decked out in full camo.

"Taggart. What are you doing?" I asked trying to contain my laughter at his appearance.

"Tracking." He answered as though it was obvious.

"Tracking what?" I asked.

"Tall , hairy , savage. Large shoe size too." He answered with a smirk. I was at a loss.

"Please tell me your not on your big foot search again." Jo said as she walked up with Henry at her side. I didn't even try to contain the laughter this time. There was no way she was serious. The smartest people in the world live here and Taggart may be a bit eccentric , but no one was going to claim that big foot existed here. Taggart scowled at her.

"He likes the dense forests and the climate would be ideal." Taggart exclaimed. I stopped laughing immediately.

"You can't be serious?" I asked incredulously.

"Of course I am sheriff." Taggart said.

"And you called me crazy for wanting to start a baseball team." I said to Jo.

"Well , that is crazy in this town." She said.

"Can we get back to finding what caused the accident? And it wasn't big foot." I said hastily as Taggart opened his mouth.

"I was going to suggest you look that way sheriff." Taggart said pointing behind me.

I turned to look in the direction he indicated. Sure enough there was a path of destruction in the tree line. I shot a look at Jo._ She had missed this?_ It was kind of hard to miss. I followed the broken path. Whatever had crashed through here had caused serious damage. I had no ideas that we would find whatever it was alive. Anything that had come through here would be in pieces. I came through a patch of trees and found a large lake , but that wasn't all. Laying limp against a tree was the mangled body of what I assumed was a man. It was hard to make out any features of the body.

"I found it." I yelled to the rest of them.

A collective gasp announced their arrival. I turned to see Jo with her hand over her mouth and I couldn't blame her. It was rather gruesome. I found myself wondering how the woman had failed to see the person that now lay broken a hundred feet from the car that hit him. Henry , Taggart and I managed to carry the remains up to the road without any further damage. Jo had to dash behind a group of trees to rid herself of her breakfast. She joined us again as we placed the body on a stretcher that Henry had in the back of the truck. We all surveyed the body with interest. I noticed a ridge on the forearm.

"What's that?" I asked.

Henry scanned the area with a portable MRI he had developed. It resembled a pen.

"That would be a tracking device. It serves the purpose of one except it is used by GD for identification purposes. He was either a scientist or an experiment." Henry explained as the scanner revealed a quarter sized disc just beneath the skin.

"I know how we can figure out who it is then." I said as I pulled out my phone and dialed Allie. She picked up rather quickly.

"Carter. I want to join your team if you ever get enough people." She said as way of a greeting.

"That's nice , but it's not why I was calling. We have a body here that has a GD tracking device in it's arm. Maybe you could come help us figure out who we have here and keep it quiet." I stated in full on business mode.

"Of course. I'll be right there." She said and hung up.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twenty minutes later there was a line of black suvs that came to a screeching halt in front of us. Allison stepped out of the first one followed by none other than Nathan Stark. _Damn that woman!_

"Carter." Allison said as the reached our group.

"Blake. Stark." I said showing my contempt at her disloyalty.

"Carter , I had to inform Nathan. It's GD protocol." She said apologetically. I wasn't giving in that easily.

"Take the body and get it back to GD." Stark said. He was avoiding making eye contact. I didn't blame him. I knew that the town had been whispering about the two of us since the missile incident. Everyone seemed to believe that we were the perfect match for each other. In reality we hadn't spoken since he helped me out of the jeep.

I was not exactly eager to get around to a conversation with him. My feelings had only grown in the time apart. Zoe had talked me to death about it. Always wanting me to tell her how I felt about Nathan. Hinting that it would be a great thing if we would get together. I chose to feign ignorance. It was easier that way. I hadn't given in to her demands to discuss the issue.

"You do realize that this is an investigation and the body is a huge piece of evidence." I told Nathan , still looking at him.

"It may be , but he was a section five employee and I rank higher than you so I am in charge now." Nathan said coldly. I watched as the team gathered up the body and Nathan ordered Henry to take the car to GD for examination as well. Henry didn't argue. Jo and I left.

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I was so pissed off I couldn't think straight. Jo watched as I paced back and forth. We had left the scene hours ago and I was still angry that Nathan had taken the body away. I was the sheriff in this damn town and it was my job to look into things like this. He just had to exert that snotty authority of his though. Allison had called earlier to apologize , but Jo insisted that I was out. I wasn't about to accept an apology when the injustice was still going on.

"Maybe if we find out what happened then they will have to turn the case back over to us." Jo suggested. It was a nice thought , but we had no evidence to start with. The body would have been the only place to get any answers and that was being held in GD. No way were they going to let us examine it.

"Jo , we have no body , no evidence and no idea where to look." I stated plainly. The door to the office banged shut and I turned to find Henry standing there with a smile on his face.

"I have the next best thing." He said as he held up the MRI he had used earlier.

"How can a scanner help?" I asked.

"Like this." He said and turned the device on. A holographic image of the mangled body appeared on the desk.

"This is great Henry. Maybe those goons from GD missed something at the scene. You work with this and we'll be back." I told him , grabbing my keys and heading out the door , Jo right behind me.

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NPOV

I hated the fact that I had to be so mean to Carter , but I had to follow the rules. I was personally quite content to let him get to the bottom of this mystery , but Allison had reminded me that it was my responsibility. I could have been nicer when I informed him of the reason that I had to take the case from him , but I knew that the stubbornness in him required a more forceful approach. Still I didn't have to like what I had to do. In fact I loathed my job at the moment.

On top of this investigation I had two teams competing to finish a prototype in the next few days. Fargo led one team and that required a lot of attention on it's own. He was the most accident prone person in town , possibly the world. I swear trouble _lives _to mess with him. All in all I was a busy man. I needed to keep my thoughts on work and away from Carter. Allison already bugs me about the man constantly. She refused to let me remain silent about my feelings toward him. Even after I yell at her she still insists that I tell him how I feel. I usually ended up with a headache.

I had a team working on the body that Carter recovered. It was obvious that something was going on around here and I intend to get to the bottom of it. Even more since Carter was convinced that we couldn't handle an investigation. Someone knew something about what had happened and once the body was identified I would have something to go on.

It wasn't long before identification was made. It was one of the team members I had working on the prototype. He belonged to the rival team of section five guys working against Fargo. They had to know something. They spent so much time together since I assigned the task that they practically lived together. I needed to meet with the team and question them.

My line of questioning got me no where. They claimed that he had been ill and was sent home sometime yesterday. I was inclined to believe that they were hiding something. I wasn't going to let that slow me down though. I would never live it down if I needed Carter to solve this thing. He would taunt me relentlessly. I had to figure this out. I was deep in thought when I was alerted that Carter was having lunch in the cafeteria with Allison. I knew that meant that he was up to something. I made my way down there and found the two of them standing at the table of the rest of the dead man's team. Carter was holding a device that was projecting an image of the body.

"Having fun , Carter? I thought I told you that you were off the case." I told him. I had to hand it to him , he was persistent.

"One of them know what this guy was on and I want to know what they know." Carter said. The men looked like they were about to heavy.

"Why do you think that they know what happened? And drugs really?" I asked skeptically. _Why would scientists need to do drugs?_

"Because these guys are eating way to much. That drug we found in the victims blood would have accelerated his body's functions. They need extra food to compensate." Carter said. It was a rather smart assessment , but I was still unclear as to why the food thing would be a sure clue. Maybe they were just hungry.

"Carter , just because they have a lot of food doesn't mean they are doped up." I said. Carter looked ready to blow a gasket , but at that moment there was a rush of air and we all looked around. Fargo was twitching uncontrollable and moving at warp speed. One moment he was standing the next he was seated with a tray filled with food. Carter smirked at me.

"You were saying?" He said sarcastically. I had to give in to his theory now. _Damn the man for being right._

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JCPOV

I had done it. The scowl on Nathan's face was rewarding. He had no intention of letting me solve this case , but now he was forced to let me work it. I had them put the entire team in lock up. I wanted them to stay there overnight. All those hours without their wonder drug would make interrogation easier. If they were going through withdrawal they would let the truth slip out. Nathan was skeptical of the plan just like he had been of everything else since this began. I thoroughly enjoyed his frustration.

I made my way home. Sarah hated it when I was late for dinner. I swear I came to this town a single man. I had left my wife , Zoe's mother , when it was obvious that we no longer worked the way we had in the beginning. Since moving here though I had gained another nagging wife. This one was none other than my own house. _Only in this town._ Zoe was in the kitchen when I walked in.

"Hey dad." She said.

"Hey , Zo. Beer me Sarah." I requested. It had been one of those days.

"Bad day , dad?" Zoe asked as I picked up my glass of beer out of the door of the refrigerator.

"Yep. Have you done your homework?" I asked looking over the file I had concerning the case. Henry had given me the info he had and I had seized a bottle of what Fargo had stolen out of the lab the team was working in.

"Yes , dad. Have you talked to Nathan about how much you like him?" Zoe asked. I choked on my beer.

"Zoe! Drop it. It's never going to happen okay." I told her sternly. I was tired and Nathan was at the top of my list of things I didn't want to discuss.

"Whatever you say dad , but I know he has the hots for you to." Zoe said and my retort was interrupted by Sarah.

_"There is someone at the door , sheriff."_ She stated. I had no idea who it could be , but I was ready for the work day to be over.

"Oh , that would be the friend I made today." Zoe said as she made her way to the door.

"You made a friend? That's great. What's her name?" I asked as I made for the couch.

"_His_ name is Dylan." Zoe said casually.

"Sarah we need to talk about increasing security." I said as the color drained out of my face.

_"I am equipped with the best security on the market , sheriff."_ She said.

"I mean against boys." I told her. There was no way one of the little fuckers was going to get to my baby girl. I don't care if Sarah zaps them or incinerates them.

"Dad , this is Dylan." Zoe said as the snot nosed punk walked in the door. He had black hair and looked generally shifty.

"You know I own a gun right?" I said as a greeting. I was making sure that he understood I had no problem shooting him.

"Dad! Come on Dylan , let's go study." Zoe said , leading him up to her room.

"Keep an eye on that boy , Sarah." I told her as I walked back to the couch.

_"Yes , sheriff." _Sarah replied.

It took me an hour to make my way through the file that I had. It was pretty clear that whatever they had been juicing with was highly dangerous. Henry had recreated the accident and determined that the guy had hit the car. It would have been a joke except for the fact that he had discovered that the man was running at over 500 miles an hour. Apparently he had tripped and hit the car. I picked up the vial of clear liquid that Fargo had stolen. It was an unknown drug so I would need to take it to Henry in the morning. My guess was rocket fuel.

Suddenly there was a burst of wind. I fell off the couch as the file scattered. I looked up in alarm. The papers were strewn around the room and the vial was no where to be found. I heard Zoe running down the stairs as I spotted a message on the wall.

"What was that dad?" She asked in a scared voice.

"A warning." I said and pointed at the wall.

Written in pencil was a threat. _' Back Off.'_ It was obvious that someone wanted the case dropped. My first instinct was that one of the suspects had escaped GD to get the vial back. I was also inclined to think that there was someone else involved. Tomorrow was going to be another long day , but I was going to get this guy.

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In the morning I was met by Jo at GD. We were going to interrogate the guys from section five today. They had sat long enough. We met with Allison and Nathan outside the holding cells. I watched the monitor that showed the three of them. The were all twitching horribly. Perfect.

"Are you sure they have been here all night?" I asked. I needed to eliminate them as the thief.

"Yes. We would have noticed if they left. Besides , they are secured to the chairs." Allison said.

"Well , someone broke into my house last night. Someone moving to fast for Sarah to catch." I told them.

"Do you plan to ever talk to them?" Nathan asked condescendingly.

"When they're ready." I said.

"Will that be sometime this year?" Nathan said sarcastically.

Silence overcame us as one of the guys shook unnaturally and shouted to be let out. This was what I had been waiting for. He was ready to spill his guts.

"He's ready." I said and Jo followed me into the room.

"Have a nice night?" I asked conversationally. The guy looked tempted to rip my head off. I took the tape recorder out of my pocket and handed it to Jo. I heard Nathan make a comment about it , but ignored him.

"Someone broke into my house last night and since you and your buddies are all stuck in here that means that there's someone else out there. Now how about you tell me about that." I started. He looked at the door and refused to make eye contact. So he was going to be stubborn.

"Look we know you and your friends have been juicing with whatever that crap was. Now we know there was someone else. Your friend died from the stuff so you're looking at murder. It would be in your best interest to talk before I walk out that door." I told him. He remained quiet.

Jo and I started to walk out. We made it to the door before he spoke. I had to smile at Nathan through the door. He cocked an eyebrow at my smile. He was so cute. For a minute my heart skipped a beat as I thought about him giving me that look in a completely different context. I snapped back to the task at hand. I turned and walked back to the suspect.

"Please. We thought it would be okay. We just needed something to keep up. We had to finish and this was the only wayyyyyyyyyyyy..." Was as far as he got. He seemed to freeze. I looked at Jo , but she was just as lost as I was. I looked toward Nathan and Allison , but they were clueless to. I waved my hand in front of his face , but he showed no sign of recognition. We walked back out to join Nathan and Allison. I was pissed.

"I was this close." I said holding up two fingers to demonstrate this.

"Their bodies must be trying to compensate for the drug. They've slowed down to a stop." Nathan said. I stared through the door. If only there was some way to hear what he had been saying. I looked at Jo again. She was watching the guy , still holding the tape recorder. _Wait a minute._

"Jo give me the recorder." I said as they all looked at me like I was crazy. I rewound the tape and hit play. Once it got to where he froze I sped it up. His voice came through at normal speed.

"He told us that it was safe in moderate doses. He had been taking it as well. Even though he was an intern we trusted him." I shut the tape off. We had the info we needed to find this other suspect. I caught the expression of awe on Nathan's face and smirked at him.

"Do you have a list of interns at GD?" I asked. This guy had to have access to GD and my house. How he got in and out without me knowing the door opened was still a mystery....

"Is one of them named Dylan?" I asked , dreading the answer.

"Yes , there is one Dylan. Why?" Nathan asked.

"That's my daughter's boyfriend. That son of a bitch was hiding in plain sight. He was at the house last night studying with Zoe." I explained and ran off. I had to get to Zoe.

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Fifteen minutes later I was running through the halls of Tesla high school. I reached Zoe's class and dashed in. The teacher looked at me in shock as though she had never had a parent run into her classroom before. Come to think about it , she probably hadn't. I reached Zoe , who looked embarrassed.

"Dad , what are you doing here? It was one kiss in the hallway , you could have waited till I got home." Zoe said. That stopped me for a minute before I remembered why I was here.

"I'll get to that later. Where's Dylan?" I asked.

"I don't know.I'm not his keeper." Zoe said. I grabbed her arm and started pulling her toward the door.

"Come on. I'll bring a note tomorrow." I told the teacher as we ran out the room.

I led her to the car and promised to explain on the way. I needed to get her to GD where she would be safe. I was taking no chance that he would use her to get to me. I climbed in the car and felt a sharp pain. I reached in my pocket to see what was in there that I sat on. It was the baseball I had been carrying to be ready to play at any moment. I put it back in and shifted it so I could sit down.

We reached the main road to GD before I remembered that Zoe was waiting for me to explain to her about Dylan. I really didn't want to. I preferred that she remain separate from my work , but that seemed unlikely when she was dating the suspect.

"It was Dylan that left me that warning last night. He's been taking this speed drug. I mean that literally. It makes the person run at over 500 miles an hour. That was how he trashed the living room and you never noticed." I told her. She was about to protest when I felt mind blowing pain and the world turned black.

I awoke to the smell of water and the feel of sharp rocks in my back. I opened my eyes to see that I was on the shore of a lake not to far from the road. My first thought was Zoe. I sat up and the pain shot through me. I grunted in effort. I spotted Dylan twenty feet away. He was squatted down with his head in his hands , muttering to himself.

"Dylan , where's Zoe?" I asked as I managed to sit all the way up.

"I told you to back off. Why did you have to keep digging?!" He said as he looked up at me.

"You pulled me out the car. Where's Zoe?" I asked again as I managed to get to my feet. The pain was intense , but I ignored it.

"I told them to watch the dose. They didn't listen. That's not my fault!" He said in a pleading voice. He looked deranged.

"I understand , Dylan. You can still get out of this." I told him. He looked at me.

"I'm going to lose everything because of you!" He screamed and the next thing I knew I was on my back and my jaw hurt like hell. He had sped over and hit me. I started to stand back up.

"You have got to stop doing that." I yelled at him. I looked at him and he was holding a gun. I reached for mine , but it was gone. The bastard had taken it when he hit me. I was scared now. He was going to shoot me with my own gun. That was irony for you. Zoe came running up yelling for me.

"Stay there , Zoe. Dylan , don't do this." I pleaded with them. He pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger. It clicked. My mind was racing. He had the safety on. I reached in my pocket for the only thing I had , the baseball. He tried in vain to find the safety. I watched as he threw the gun and I waited for him to rush me. He started to run and I cocked my arm back and let the ball fly. It hit him as he hit super speed. It had to hurt. He was thrown back on to the ground. Out cold. Zoe ran up to me. I hugged her with force.

"Two things. First always check the safety. Second , never rush the mound when the pitcher has the ball." I said to the unconscious Dylan.

"Let's get out of here , kiddo." I told her.

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I decided to have dinner at Cafe Diem tonight. Zoe was staying at a new friend's house. A nice girl named Pillar. I had made sure she was normal. No homicidal tendencies. Sarah was a little mad that I wasn't letting her cook for me. I figured I would need to argue my way back into the house later. I walked into Cafe Diem and my eyes roamed the room. Nathan was sitting alone at a table. He looked up at the sound of the door opening and I waved at him. He smiled and waved me over.

"Everyone back to normal?" I asked as I sat down.

"Almost. I heard you have a great arm , Carter." Nathan said.

"Well , that idiot took my gun so I used what I had." I said. Nathan chuckled at my statement. I felt my heart warm at the sound.

"How do you feel?" He asked. The concern was barely noticeable in his voice.

"Like I was pulled from a moving vehicle , but Allison said I'll be fine in a few days." I told him. I looked around to find every eye was on the two of us.

"You've noticed that we seem to be a topic of gossip these days." Nathan said. I wondered if anyone had dared to approach him yet.

"It seems that way. I can't even escape it at home. Zoe won't drop it and she even corrupted my house." I told him with a laugh.

"Sounds worse than Allison. Think they have a point?" He asked while staring a the table. My heart stopped for a minute. Surely he was joking. He looked up at me and there was a vulnerability in his eyes. I swallowed hard and opened my mouth a few times before I found my voice.

"Maybe." I said. It was only one word , but it was all I could manage. He looked at me for a minute then spoke.

"Maybe." He said. A smile graced his handsome face and I couldn't help smiling back.

PUSH THE BUTTON....YOU KNOW YOU ARE DYING TO...


	7. Lost

DISCLAIMER-I OWN NOTHING…MALE/MALE PAIRING…YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…

Lost

JCPOV

"Who's that?" I asked Nathan. We had been having breakfast together every morning for the past week now. It helped the gossip train along. Nathan looked behind him and froze.

"I have to go." He said and was gone before I could say anything.

I followed the stranger with my eyes. He was about six foot tall with sandy blond hair. He was dressed like a teenager and looked barely older than that. As I studied him I wondered why he had caused such a reaction from Nathan. He made his way to a booth and I noticed every eye was on him. Vincent came over to me.

"Here's your breakfast Sheriff." He said as he placed my plate on the edge of the table because he was still watching the stranger.

"Who is that?" I asked him. He finally looked at me.

"That's Callister Raynes , he used to work for Dr. Stark when he had his own lab. There was a fire and he disappeared. Uh-oh." Vincent said as he looked toward the door. Jo walked in and looked around.

"What do you mean uh-oh?" I asked Vincent.

"They used to date." He replied watching Jo walk toward Callister.

He stood as Jo reached him. Neither spoke or moved. Suddenly Jo spoke softly.

"Callister." She said. He started to smile until Jo cocked her arm back and decked him. The whole café' gasped.

"That's for leaving and this is for coming back." Jo said then kissed him roughly. I watched in awe of my deputy. When she was done she walked to my table and stopped.

"I'll have those reports done soon." She said and walked out.

"Take your time." I called after her. I looked at Vincent who had that gleam in his eyes whenever there was good gossip. Once he walked back to the counter I looked at Callister , but he was gone.

I ate a few bites and decided to go after him.

It took quite a bit of driving to find Callister. He was walking down Archimedes Avenue carrying his duffle. I really wanted to know why Nathan had reacted that way. We had been getting along much better since that first meal we shared. Still I had a feeling he wouldn't tell me no matter how close we'd gotten.

"Hey there Callister , right?" I said as I pulled up next to him. He turned to look at me. I was struck by piercing blue eyes.

"Yes sir , that would make you the Sheriff , right?" he replied.

"Jack Carter." I introduced myself as I got out and walked over to shake his hand. He was about to say something when Jo's voice came over the radio.

"Yeah Jo?" I answered.

"We got a report of a problem out at the Johnston Ranch and you're supposed to say over , Carter over." She said.

"On my way." I said as Callister looked at me.

"You didn't say over." He said.

"Yeah I know. It'll aggravate her all day. Hey do you need a ride?" I asked climbing back in my jeep.

"I was just headed to Beverly's to get a room , I can walk." I got the impression that he didn't want to be stuck in the car with me.

"Okay , but you know Beverly's is the other way right?" I told him.

"Oh right." He replied and turned around.

I pulled up to the Johnston Ranch to find Jo waiting for me. She had this look of amusement on her face. I was curious , but I was hoping it had nothing to do with me.

"So what do we have?" I asked as I walked up.

"There's a problem with the fence." She said pointing at a fence to my right. I started to walk toward the gate , but after five steps there was a warning from Jo. It came too late though , I felt a tug and I was sliding across the gravel toward the gate. I somehow managed to turn around halfway to the gate. I hit the gate with breath taking force.

"It's magnetized. " Jo managed to get out through the fit of laughter. I just glared at her as I was stuck solidly to the fence.

"I'll just go shut it down." Jo said as she left chuckling.

I was left glued to the gate while Jo left to find the off switch. I really thought it couldn't get worse than this , boy was I wrong. A black SUV pulled up and I knew it could only be one of two people , Allison or Nathan. At the moment I was hoping for the first , no such luck. I was destined to be teased for this. I took a casual stance and hoped I could keep this quiet until Jo released me.

"What are you doing all the way out here?" I asked Nathan.

"Well I did help design this place so I figured I'd lend a hand." Nathan answered.

"Oh thanks." I replied lamely. He had a tendency to make me flustered.

"So any particular reason why you're just lounging around?" Nathan asked as he started walking toward me.

"NOO! Stop , don't come over …" I tried to warn him , but it was too late. He was skidding toward me so I braced myself for the impact.

"I take it this was what you were trying to tell me about." Nathan said as he pulled back as far as he could.

"It's magnetized." I said , trying to ignore the close proximity.

Nathan only nodded. We stood there in silence. I was trying desperately to think of everything besides the gorgeous man pressed against me , but it was easier said than done. I could feel every curve of his warm body as it was pressed against me. His warm breath ghosting across my face , not to mention the hand that was stuck against the fence at my hip.

Suddenly the silence was broken by a ringing coming from Nathan's pocket. He tried to pull his hand from the fence , but it wouldn't budge. Then he tried to maneuver his other hand to reach it , but it was useless. I knew what was coming when he looked at me , a blush coming to his cheeks.

"Could you..?" Nathan asked shyly. I didn't answer , but reached into his pocket.

It was hard to get a grip on and as I was trying to maneuver my hand to grasp it , it happened. My hand brushed something hard and a moan escaped Nathan's parted lips. It took less than a second for me to realize that he was rock hard.

My mind was racing as I evaluated this new piece of information. I took a moment to asses my state. I was in the same position. I decided that it was best to remove my hand from his pocket. Nathan was studiously avoiding looking at me. The ringing stopped for a minute , but it resumed almost immediately. Nathan sighed in annoyance. As I tried to think of anything except what had just happened an idea came to me.

"Nathan what do you have on this hand that's making it stick to the fence?" I asked , indicating his left hand. He was silent for a minute the answered.

"My watch , why?" he asked , cocking an eyebrow.

"If we take it off you'll be able to get to your phone." I told him , he smiled at me and I felt my heart beat faster.

"I'll try to reach it." He said and wrapped his free arm around my back. I gasped in surprise as the action pulled me closer to him.

I tried in vain to ignore Nathan's body against mine. I could feel his erection brushing against mine and it was taking every ounce of strength I had not to cry out in pleasure. Nathan was trying as hard as he could to get his watch off , but it was just pushing me closer to the edge. I had to put a stop to this right now.

"Nathan…uh could you…" I stammered out.

"I almost got it." Nathan cut me off.

"Nathan please…" I practically moaned out.

" Just a little more.." Nathan said. That was it , I was so damn close.

"Nathan for the love of all that is holy you need to stop moving right now! Please." I snapped.

Nathan stilled , he was staring at me in confusion. I tried to control my body. A few seconds later I saw a look of understanding flash across his face. I felt a blush creeping onto my face. I dared to look up at Nathan. I met his piercing green eyes and I was lost in them. I felt my hand lifting toward his face and saw his hand moving out of the corner of my eye.

As our hands reached their destinations my heart rate skyrocketed. I could feel it pounding in my chest like a thousand drums. My breathing turned erratic as I leaned toward Nathan. My eyes flicking toward his lips as he leaned in. My tongue darted out to moisten my lips in anticipation. I looked up in time to see his eyes follow the movement. We were so close but before our lips could meet I heard a cough.

We both jumped and looked around. Jo was standing there trying to keep a smile off her face. At that moment I wanted to kill her. I had been so close to feeling those soft lips against mine. Stop it I chastised myself. This would not help my erection go away. There was no way I was giving Jo that type of ammo to use against me. Think about baseball , think about baseball I thought.

Nathan had moved away from me and was talking on his cell phone to someone. I couldn't hear what he was saying , but his body language said it all. Whoever he was talking to wasn't making him happy. There was a crease between his eyes that I wanted to smooth out. Nathan ended his call and turned to face us.

"I'll fix this later. Something's come up. Have Henry send me the CPU. " he said and was gone.

"That was weird." Jo said.

"Yeah , call Henry and have him get that stuff for Nathan. I'm going to head into town , make sure nothing is wrong." I told her.

I made my way back to town and knew right away that there was a problem. The only street light in town was malfunctioning. As I approached I was shocked when two cars hit each other. I pulled up to them and got out. I did have to laugh when the twins stepped out.

I checked that they were both alright and placed a call to Henry. After dealing with the twins I had to stop by café' Diem. I had a hunch. This Callister guy shows up and Eureka goes haywire. Coincidence , I think not. I was thinking what to do what to ask Vincent as I entered , but the scene that met my eyes pushed all thoughts out of my head. It was snowing , literally.

"Vincent , what?" I asked.

"The climate control is on the fritz. What can I get you?" he replied.

"You can do what you do best and tell me everything you know about Callister Raynes." I told him sitting in the corner booth.

"Well Dr. Stark had his own lab when he came here. He was independent from GD. Callister was hired as his assistant. They worked together on some secret project for about a year. One morning the town awoke to find Stark's lab in flames and Callister gone. The sheriff investigated but found no foul play. Callister never returned and Nathan never talked about it or him." Vincent explained in full on story teller mode.

"Did they ever determine the cause of the fire?"

"Faulty wiring combined with chemicals in the lab , it was a bad combination."

"What about Callister and Jo?" I asked.

"Oh they were dating , getting serious too. When the fire happened he disappeared without a word to her. She was pretty upset about it , as you saw this morning." He said.

"Thanks Vincent." I told him and headed out to the office.

There was one too many unknowns with Raynes. I needed to understand what happened back then to get an idea about what was going on now. I had to talk to Jo , she could get me info on where Callister had been all this time.

NPOV

Damn it all to hell , Jo just had to ruin a perfect moment. Although it was probably for the best , if we had kissed I doubt I could have stopped there.

Feeling his body pressed against mine , the proof of his attraction to me against my own. If not for the fact that I would have been mortified. I pulled up to the building that I had avoided for the past six years , ever since the fire. Ironic that both that day and this one was because of Callister.

I walked in through the rusted door , the memories swirled around me like the dust in the air. The walls were still blackened from the flames , equipment strewn across the floor. You could still smell the stench of burnt everything in the stale air. Callister was seated at an old metal table.

"What are you doing here Callister?" I asked as I stopped in front of the table.

"I need your help." He said in a quiet voice.

JCPOV

I walked in the office and headed straight for Jo. I knew I had to be gentle , I needed to get through this , but Jo had to be hurting. I teased her , but I wasn't mean.

"Jo can I ask you something?" I asked.

"Since when do you ask nicely?" she asked suspiciously.

"It's about Callister and the fire."

"Look he was cleared, he had nothing to do with the fire so there's nothing to talk about." She replied.

"I know he was cleared , but I think that he has something to do with what is happening now." I told her. She glared at me before typing the info into the computer.

"Oh." Jo said.

"What?"

"Umm….I…" Jo started but didn't finish. I walked behind her desk to see what she had found. The information made my blood boil.

I was so pissed , how could she do this to me?! I sped toward Beverly's ,she was in so much trouble. I screeched to a halt jumping from the car I ran into the B&B. I stomped down the hall to where Beverly held the therapy sessions. I heard Zoe's voice as I approached.

"Well Callister is really sweet , but my dad would blow a gasket if I showed any interest in him." She said. I burst into the room and they both jumped.

"Dad , what are you doing?" Zoe screeched holding a hand over her heart.

"Why did you lie to me? I can't believe that I trusted you. I thought you were getting better." I rapidly spilled out.

"Dad what are you talking about , I'm doing the therapy like you asked and I haven't committed a crime since I got here." She asked fearfully , it should have softened my anger , but it didn't.

"This is what I'm talking about." I handed her the bulletin Jo found.

"Dad I was going to tell you , I just…" she started , but I held up my hand.

"You stole a credit card to get here. You couldn't have asked me for the money? And what was that about Callister?" I asked , she paled slightly at the mention of his name.

"If I had asked to come live with you , you would have told me no and you know it. As for Callister , we met earlier when he came to get a room.

"I just don't know how I'm supposed to trust you now. i…"I started but was cut off by the fire alarm.

"Fire!" I yelled and steered them outside.

Within minutes the fire was being put out with some high tech foam. I looked around for Zoe , we needed to talk about this more. I couldn't find her anywhere though. Figuring she went home I refocused on the problem at hand.

"Where did the fire start and how?" I asked Henry.

"In room 13 , the cause is unclear though." He answered.

"Was anyone in that room?" I asked Beverly.

"That was Callister's room , he left a little bit ago though. He was on the phone with someone , said something about the old place , to meet him there." She informed me. With a thanks to everyone , I was off to find Jo.

When I reached the office , Jo was typing away at her desk. I stopped in front of her.

"Do you know anything about on old meeting place of Callister's?" I asked. She looked at me like I had three heads.

"No , I don't. Why?" she asked.

"There was a fire at Beverly's in Callister's room. It's like Nathan's lab…" I trailed off , suddenly it all made sense. The call Nathan got , it was Callister. They were at the old lab.

"Come on , I know where he is." I told Jo , heading out the door.

I stopped outside the building Jo had indicated. It was rundown and I found myself surprised that it still stood. A half-burnt sign hung in the front reading 'Stark Industries.' I wondered momentarily if he was a different person back then. Jo and I made our way inside the dilapidated building , guns drawn. Out of everything I was preparing to find the scene we came across wasn't one of them.

Nathan was seated at the table next to Callister , but that wasn't the strange part. Callister's sleeve was pulled up to reveal a section of skin that was pulled back , revealing intricate machinery instead of muscle and bone. Jo and I were frozen in awe of the sight.

"Can I help you Carter?" Nathan asked.

"I think they figured it all out , except this part obviously. " Callister said.

"Wha…?" Jo stuttered , I couldn't blame her. She had dated the man , robot , whatever.

"I'm A.I. , but I'm sick at the moment so I came to my creator for help." Callister said casually.

"If you're not human , how are you sick?" I asked , Jo was still in shock.

"He has a computer virus and I can't repair it." Nathan said quietly , his voice tinged with sadness.

"So this virus is causing the problems in town then?" I asked.

"Yes , I am sorry about that by the way." Callister said.

"I'm sure Nathan can fix it." I told him , I couldn't hold it against him now.

Nathan's phone rang , breaking up the conversation. We all waited silently as he answered. It didn't take long to figure out that something was wrong.

"Yeah he's with me…what…are you sure…get Henry on it…I need to deal with something." He said.

"What now?" I asked wearily.

"The virus has reached the main system. The whole town's shutting down , I want you to catch a bus out of town. I've done all I can Callister." Nathan said.

"Jo can you go check on Zoe for me? We had a fight and I want her to know what's happening." I asked her and she merely nodded before leaving.

"I really hurt her." Callister said as he gathered his things.

"She'll be fine , she's tough." I told him.

"Yeah she is." He replied and walked out the door. I looked at Nathan , the sadness evident in his eyes.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Sure , let's get to GD." He said and walked out.

We were almost to GD when I asked about the latest problem. We had taken my jeep to get there faster. I had been watching him since we left and I was worried. He seemed withdrawn.

"The main system controls every aspect of Eureka. It would be like shutting down every electronic device in the world." Nathan explained.

"And Callister?" I asked gently. Nathan was quiet for a moment before he answered.

"Callister was the project. Out of all the A.I. we created he was the only one that worked. Not only that , but he was more human-like than machine. I knew that he would be taken and dissected , so I set the fire and sent him away."

"You wanted to protect him , like he was your child." I stated and Nathan smiled slightly.

"He is."

I gave him a warm smile , I really like this side of him , kind , caring. My phone rang out through the silence. I answered , hoping it wasn't more bad news.

"Hello."

"Cater , Zoe's not here and I can't find her anywhere." Jo replied.

"What , where the hell would she be?" I asked , I knew she was upset , but where would she run…that was it she was running again.

"Check any way out of town , I'll check the bus station." I told her , turning the car around and heading toward the depot.

"What's wrong?" Nathan asked.

"Zoe's gone , we had a fight earlier. She stole someone's credit card to get here and didn't tell me about it."

"Well Henry will be able to handle the virus. Let's go find that daughter of yours." Nathan said with a smile.

We pulled up to the bus station and started scanning the crowd. Buses were pulling out and I hoped Zoe wasn't on one of them. I was about to give up when I heard the most beautiful sound in the world.

"Dad , oh thank god. You have to come quick." She said as she ran up to us.

Nathan and I followed her to a space between the buses. Callister was leaning against the tire. He didn't look good , Nathan ran to his side.

"I'm sorry about everything. I just didn't want to die." Callister told Nathan , who pulled him into a hug.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. I should have been able to help you. I'm the one who's sorry." He told him.

"You did great Dad." Callister said and Nathan's eyes watered at the sentiment. He pulled back to look at him and stopped. Callister's eyes had darkened , he was gone.

"Zoe go call Jo and have her pick you up." I told her as I handed her my phone. Nathan and I carried Callister back to the car. Jo took Zoe home as I drove to Nathan's.

We placed Callister in Nathan's spare room and sat in the living room with a couple of drinks. We drank in silence. I was waiting for him to break , I knew it was coming. I didn't have to wait long , Nathan cried into his hands. I remained quiet. I put an arm around him and let him get it all out.

REVIEW AND I'M GLAD TO BE BACK…


	8. uRGES

DISCLAIMER-I OWN NOTHING….MALE/MALE PAIRING….YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…

Urges

JCPOV

"How's he doing?" Jo asked in concern.

"It's bad. How much further?" I asked as we made our way down another hallway.

"Right at the end , Taggart's lab is on the left." Jo said moving beside me.

"Taggart?! He's supposed to save him , he hates Low-Jack." I said incredulously.

"He also happens to be the only one with animal medical knowledge." Jo pointed out.

I guess that was a good point , poor Low-Jack. He had once again been running out by the road , again he ran out in front of me. Only this time I hit him. For the smartest dog ever , he sure did stupid things. Now he would depend on Taggart to make him better. The man who had chased him relentlessly.

"Taggart we need your help." Jo said as we entered his lab.

"What can I do you for?" he asked , I laid Low-Jack on the table.

"He was hit by my jeep. I need you to help him. So put aside your issues with him." I told him.

"Wouldn't be much fun to get him when's he's like this , mate." Taggart replied. He pulled a canister from a cabinet and put on some funky goggles.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Nanoids , they'll repair the damage because they're programmed to. After they'll become dormant again." He explained.

"Well keep me updated , we have to go." I told him and left with Jo.

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NPOV

"This will interpret your thoughts and pull up whatever you need. It synchronizes with your cerebral cortex to anticipate your every need and want." Fargo explained as he placed something behind my left ear.

"Ow , should I trust you to be messing with my mind?" I asked as the pain diminished.

"No worries Dr. Stark. That was just the device piercing the skin." Fargo said , unconcerned.

"It looks like a melanoma." I said with a glare. Fargo scampered off.

The next few hours I watched as Fargo's mental mouse displayed my core feelings , heartbeat and respiration. Red for anger , green for jealousy , blue for sadness and white for lust. Currently red was in the lead. The stupid device kept pulling up info on gay relationships. Sure it would be useful , but not while I'm trying to work. I called Fargo.

"This stupid thing keeps pulling up the wrong things." I complained.

"What type of things sir?" he asked and I cast a glance at the newest addition , a gay Kama Sutra.

"That's not the point Fargo." I said in a cold tone.

"It'll even out once it maps your mind completely." He said , frustrated I hung up on him.

An hour later and it still hadn't stopped. By this point I was so pissed off the entire screen displaying my mood was red. I had an irresistible urge to smash the irritating device into tiny pieces.

"Dr. Stark." My thoughts were interrupted.

"Yes." I replied.

"Dr. Blake requested your presence." Just what I need.

I made my way to Allison's office , thankful that there wasn't a computer screen to display my subconscious thoughts. That thought was reinforced when I entered to see Carter and Jo already there.

"You rang?" I asked.

"Nathan we have an employee missing , Larry…..He was in the crawlspace in one of the labs to fix a computer problem , but he hasn't come out yet." Allison said.

"Maybe he's still working." I suggested.

"He called security and no one can reach him so Carter's going in , but he needs to ask you some questions first." Allison said.

"Why me?"

"You signed the authorization for him to go in."

"I was a little busy today."

"So do you remember seeing him?" Carter asked.

"No , hope you find him." I said.

"Well , I need to get back to handle running this nut house." I said.

Suddenly Taggart burst through the door.

"I want to help find Larry." He announced.

"In that case I'm going to go help Henry set up." Jo said.

"Set up for what?" Carter asked.

"The dance tonight , do you ever listen to anything?" she asked.

"Oh that. Right , really not too concerned with that since I'm not going ." He replied.

"No date?" Jo teased and I was listening intently for the answer.

"No Jo , no date. Now can we focus on the missing Larry." Carter shot back.

"Keep me updated." I said and walked out.

I made my way back to my office feeling happier. Carter didn't have a date , even if I wasn't going to ask him I was glad that no one else had. Now if this stupid mouse thing would work right. Sitting in front of the screen covered in gay porn made me want that even more. I looked up as my door opened and Larry walked in.

"How nice of you to show up , everyone's looking for you so you might want to inform them you're alive so they can get back to work." I told him. He just stood there.

"Earth to Larry , hello." I said impatient with the man already.

I locked eyes with him as I prepared to chew him out , but what I saw made the words die in my throat. His eyes were a strange , shimmering blue. He walked toward me and before I could react the world went black.

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JCPOV

Just what I always wanted to do , crawl through a dark creepy tunnel with Taggart. At least I got to see Nathan , I had been worried about him since the death of Callister. It was nice being near him again , we still hadn't had time for breakfast together. Jo just had to bring up that damn dance.

I hate the things to begin with. Zoe's been after me to help set up , but things keep coming up. Well I arrange them to , but still. At least Allison rescued me with this case. That Spencer would have made me deaf with that tiny speaker , kids and their music.

"Oh god." Taggart exclaimed , bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Is that Larry?" I asked. The mangled body looked as though something had been eating on it.

"I think so."

"Let's get out of here and find Allison." I said.

It didn't take long to find her. Taggart left after we told her about Larry to check on Low-Jack. I went to join him when Allison headed off to update Nathan. I found him in his lab staring at Low-Jack. He was seriously strange.

"So how's he doing?" I asked.

"I don't know how he did it. He was out in the hall , then he was back in the cage. I just don't get…" Taggart started , I was confused.

"What?" I asked as he ran to the cabinet containing the nanoids.

"They're gone." He exclaimed , holding up the empty jar.

"They weren't activated , they shouldn't be able to escape. Oh god they ate Larry." He ranted.

"I thought they fixed things."

"They're supposed to , but whatever allowed them to escape has been commanding them." He replied.

I was about to freak out on the man when Allison walked in. She didn't look happy.

"I can't find Nathan now what?" Allison said seeing Taggart's face.

"My nanoids escaped and killed Larry. I tried to call them back , but they're not responding."

"Are you serious , we need to find them now! Can they get out of the building?" she asked.

"No the EM barrier will keep them contained." Taggart replied as he gathered up devices.

"The what?" I asked.

"GD has an electromagnetic barrier. If they try to pass it they'll be fried."

"So I guess it's back to the tunnels?" I asked dreading the answer.

"Yep I can track them with this." He said , holding up a device.

I caught sight of Low-Jack in his cage. Taggart and Allison were discussing containment. I remembered what Taggart had been ranting about before he discovered the missing nanoids. I had a thought and it wasn't good.

"Can the nanoids replicate anything? Like make themselves into something else?" I asked.

"It's possible , why?" Taggart asked. Damn it I hate being right sometimes.

"You saw Low-Jack in the hall then found him in his cage." I said.

"You don't think they're coping people do you?" Allison asked.

"I think it would explain why Taggart saw Low-Jack outside then back in his cage moments later." I told her. Her phone rang out at that moment.

"Allison Blake…when…I'm on my way." She said.

"They found Nathan , he's entered the control room. I don't think he's himself." She informed us as we headed to the control room. I was worried about Nathan , first Callister and now he may have been attacked.

"We need to get in there." Allison told the security team.

"We have a report of Dr. Stark in section 2 and section 4. Now in section 3 too." The lead man replied.

"That's all the shut off points for the EM field. They're trying to escape , we need to protect the town." Allison said.

"I'll call Jo. Is there any way to destroy these things?" I asked.

"We need to find the real Nathan. What was that thing he had on his neck earlier?" I asked.

"At least all that staring is being put to good use. I think Fargo knows." Allison said as she placed a call to get Fargo here. He was there in minutes.

"We need to find Dr. Stark. Do you know anything about the device he had on his neck?" I asked , he looked guilty at the question.

"I'm not in the mood to beat it out of you Fargo , but I will." I warned.

"I was testing my new project , the mental mouse. He was complaining that it was pulling up subjects that he wasn't looking for. I'm positive that nothing was wrong with it. What's going on anyway?" Fargo stammered out.

"Taggart's nanoids have escaped and are beyond his control. They made copies of Dr. Stark and broke out. They also killed Larry while he was working in the tunnels." Allison explained.

"Nanoids , oh no."

"What?" I asked and Fargo looked stricken.

"The mental mouse may have been working on the same frequency." He replied.

"Great , just great Fargo." Allison sighed.

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"It means that the nanoids merged with the link to Nathan and that's why they're not responding , he's controlling them through the mental mouse."

"Well how do we find Nathan?" I asked impatiently. I was worried about him , he had been missing for a while now. Those damn naniods better not have hurt him.

"I think I found him." Taggart's voice broke through my thoughts.

"How do you know?" I asked.

"I picked up a signal in one of the tunnels when I was checking for any nanoids that got left behind. It's not moving though." Taggart explained.

"Let's go."

My heart was racing as we made our way into the tunnels. I was imagining every horrible scenario. He had to be okay , he just had to be. I needed him to be okay. I gasped as we reached the chamber Taggart had found the signal in.

Nathan was propped up against a wall. I rushed to his side , I let out a breath that I hadn't realized I was holding when I felt a pulse. We got him out and to the infirmary.

I waited impatiently as he was checked over. I nearly screamed with joy when I heard his voice. Allison , Taggart and Fargo were discussing how to stop the rogue nanoids when I was allowed to see him.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I walked to his side.

"I've been better. They told me what's been happening." He replied.

"They're trying to figure out how to stop them. I got Jo clearing the streets. I was worried about you." I said the last part quietly.

"I…" he started , but was cut off when Taggart entered.

"We have an idea. If we had a low signal , below human hearing it could destabilize the nanoids. We just need to get them all together and play the signal." He said.

"You'd need a giant speaker to do that." Nathan said.

"Maybe not , I have an idea." I smiled at Nathan.

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NPOV

I awoke in the infirmary , my head hurt like hell and I wanted to take a nap. Then Carter was there , he was a sight for sore eyes. I could see the concern in his eyes and it lifted my mood. When he voiced his concern I felt the warmth spread through me. I started to tell him how sorry I was that I had worried him. Taggart had really crappy timing.

Now we were at City Hall waiting for Carter to fill us in on his plan. I watched him as he ran around the room , he really was gorgeous.

"Okay Spencer's system can broadcast the signal now we need Nathan to bring his clones here." He said.

"Carter." Jo's voice came over his radio.

"Yeah Jo." He answered.

"Everyone's off the streets except about 20 Stark's." she replied.

"Okay thanks Jo." He said.

"I have an idea on how to get them here. I'll need your help Allison." Jack told us and I was curious how he planned to make me subconsciously call them.

"Okay." Allison said.

"Spencer some romantic music please , Allison may I have this dance." He asked.

I watched as he held her close. I really didn't want to see this. They moved elegantly in front of me , Carter was staring lovingly into her eyes and it was pissing me off.

"Okay this is not working." I told them and they ignored me.

What happened next pushed me over the edge. Carter leaned in and captured her lips in a tender kiss , I saw red. He wasn't supposed to be kissing her m he had been worried about me. Now he had his tongue down Allison's throat.

"It's working." Jo said over the radio.

"Okay you guys it worked you can stop now." I told them.

Carter immediately pulled back. I watched him stare at the floor completely embarrassed. I couldn't be mad when he was so cute. The doors burst open and I walked through , it was disorienting.

"Okay that's all of them!" Carter yelled as he tried to protect Allison and keep the clones off him. Spencer hit the signal and the clones started to explode. We all sighed in relief.

JCPOV

It had been a long day , worrying about Nathan , stopping an army of clones and kissing Allison. That was the hardest thing to do. Doing it in front of Nathan made it worse.

Now I was back at the scene of the crime. Zoe had bullied me into it. She argued that since I made such a mess that I was required to go. I just gave up and came.

""Having fun dad?" Zoe asked.

"I'm having a ball." I said sarcastically.

"Ha ha , I do have a bone to pick with you about earlier. Allison dad , really?" she gave me a pointed look.

"I needed to get Nathan upset enough to call his clones here. I took one for the team." I told her.

"You may have upset him more than you think. By the way never make out in front of me again." She told me , pointing to Nathan before moving away.

I spotted him across the room. He was sitting alone , drinking a glass of champagne. I watched as he stood and walked out. I quickly followed and caught up with him as he leaned against the rail at the gazebo. He was beautiful in the glow from the lights wrapped around the small building. I stood next to him.

"I didn't think you were coming." He said.

"Zoe blackmailed me." I told him.

"Oh , having fun?" he asked, I turned to look at him. He seemed happier.

"Not one bit , this is the best it's been all night." I told him.

"Really? And you're not even dancing." He said with a smile.

"Neither are you." I said.

"No one's asked." He said with a challenging look in his eye.

"Well we'll have to fix that won't we. May I have this dance?" I asked , holding a hand out for his.

He smiled and took my hand. I pulled him close to me , closer than I had held Allison. He gasped as he was pulled flush against my chest. We swayed to our own tune. Nathan held my hand and waist as we danced. I looked into his eyes and was stunned by the emotion swirling there.

I moved my hand from his shoulder and cupped his cheek. His eyes closed and a sigh passed his lips. He released my other hand and placed it on my cheek. Our other hands settled on the other's hip. I waited for him to open his eyes.

When he did I leaned in slowly. Finally my lips met his , his hand clenched at my side and I moaned as he pulled me closer. My hand wound into the hair at the nape of his neck and tugged lightly. I was rewarded with a moan.

I felt his tongue trace my lips and I parted them at once. The taste of Nathan was the greatest thing I had ever tasted. I was in total heaven , I had wanted this for so long. Finally we had to pull apart , oxygen was becoming an issue.

"Wow." I gasped out.

"Yeah." Nathan said.

"I've wanted to do that for a while now." I told him.

"Me too Jack , me too." Nathan replied.

We stayed outside talking for hours. I hated that the night had to end , but it ended perfectly. A kiss goodnight made it all better. I couldn't get rid of the smile on my face.

I dreamed of that kiss all night and more , way more. In all the time since meeting Nathan I had very few days that didn't begin with a Nathan induced erection.

The next morning I headed to Café' Diem to meet up with Nathan. I was hoping we could have breakfast but Nathan was nowhere to be found.

REVIEW MY PRETTIES REVIEW…I KNOW THEY HAD THAT HOT MAKEOUT AND NOW NATHAN ISN'T THERE…I'M SO EVIL….


	9. True Desires

DISCLAIMER-I OWN NOTHING…MALE/MALE PAIRING…YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…

True Desires

NPOV

The night of the dance was a good night. By the next morning I was scared to death. Deep down in knew that it was irrational , but I couldn't get the thoughts out of my head. I knew that he would be expecting me that morning for breakfast. I was a coward.

I continued to be a coward. I had been avoiding Jack since then. I knew he had to be mad at me. Allison was even mad at me. I was afraid to face Zoe's wrath , I had seen her once and she gave me a look of pure hatred. I finished my dinner and left Café' Diem , completely absorbed in my thoughts of Jack. I was nearly home when the world turned slowly black. I awoke the next morning in my car with no idea what had happened.

JCPOV

"Hey Henry." I yelled as I pulled over where he was working on a new project.

"Jack , aren't you supposed to be watching the game?" he asked.

"I was , then Fargo happened. How's your thing coming?" I replied.

"It's a new cell tower and it's almost finished. How are things with Nathan?" I frowned at him.

"That good then." He said and I nodded.

"Well let me go deal with Fargo." I said and continued down the road.

I pulled up to find Fargo standing by Seth's fence. This argument had been running between them for over a week now. I was getting tired of it. Seth played music to his plants way too loud and Fargo couldn't sleep at night. It was an endless cycle.

"Seth how many times do I have to come out here to tell you to keep it down? Why do you smell like crap Fargo?" I asked.

"He sprayed me with fertilizer."

"He's just trying to make trouble." Seth said before they started talking over each other. I snapped.

"Enough! Seth no serenading your fauna after six. Fargo you stay away from him. Now I have a warm beer , cold steak and a game to get back home to. Can you two get along?" I said sternly.

"But…" they began but I held up a hand.

"If I have to come back out here , I'm bringing a stun gun and a weed whacker , understand." I told them.

"Yes sheriff." They said.

I got home as quickly as I could. I tried to keep Nathan out of my thoughts. It was always hard. I hadn't seen him since the dance and it made me mad. We had shared the best kiss I ever had , but it must have been too much for him. My feelings were still strong toward him.

When I walked in Zoe was yelling at the screen , eating my steak of course. Damn Fargo. I had to laugh when Sarah joined Zoe's protests. A house yelling at the umpire was too funny.

"Who's winning?" I asked.

"The Yanks are down by one because of that blind , stupid…" Zoe started yelling. (I'M A YANKEES FAN , ALWAYS HAVE BEEN SO SUE ME.)

"Ok cool it , they'll get it back." I told her. I grabbed a beer and settled in to enjoy the only thing that kept Nathan out , almost.

"Have you seen Nathan?" Zoe asked.

"No and I'm not sure I want to anymore." I told her. I was mad , but I was hurt by his actions as well.

"I'm sorry dad."

"Me too , Zo. Me too." I told her , she smiled a sad little smile.

After the game was over Zoe got up and gave me a kiss on the cheek on the way to bed.

"Good night dad."

"Night." I replied. I loved that girl.

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I walked into the office feeling both anxious and at ease. It wasn't a good sign. I was met with an unusual sight. I had known Jo for weeks now and I had never seen this side of her. She was reading a magazine with her hair hanging freely and gum smacking away.

"Morning Jo." I said cautiously.

"What's up Jack?" Jo replied enthusiastically.

"Are you feeling okay?" I blurted out , she was freaking me out.

At that moment the door opened and Seth walked in. just what I needed this early in the morning. I walked to the desk.

"What now Seth?" I asked.

"I want that son of a bitch arrested. He destroyed my speakers and knocked me out last night." He demanded.

"Fargo , bumbling Fargo knocked you out?" I asked unable to believe it.

"One and the same , if you don't arrest him I'll take care of it myself." Seth stated coldly.

"That's not a threat is it , Seth?" I asked.

"Of course not." He replied and was out the door. Jo skipped to my side.

"Do you want coffee? I want coffee , ooh and to go dancing. Do you want to go dancing with me?" Jo finished giggling like a school girl.

"No thanks , I'm gonna go get Fargo." I said.

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It didn't take long to find him , he was asleep in the cat-scan machine at GD. I smacked the side causing him to jump up and hit the tunnel. It was quite funny.

"Get up Fargo. You need to come with me." I told him.

"Oh c'mon , I didn't get much sleep last night. That idiot was blaring his music again so I cut the cords , but the sneaky bastard knocked me out. I woke up in a puddle of my own drool." Fargo said as he crawled out.

"Wait you claim he knocked you out?"

"Well I didn't knock myself out." Fargo replied.

"Funny that's what he said you did to him. Either way you're coming with me." I told him.

Fargo groaned , but followed any way. We reached the hall and I came face to face with the one person I wanted to avoid.

"Where are you taking Fargo , Carter?" Nathan asked , the use of my last name hurt , but I ignored it.

"He confessed to destruction of property so I'm taking him in." I told him in a clinical voice.

"Look I need him here." He replied.

"Well he broke the law and I don't really care what you need at the moment." I snapped at him. A look of hurt crossed his face but I ignored it.

He was about to say something when Allison walked up. She wasn't dressed in her usual business attire. She wore a sundress and sandals. It reminded me of Jo.

"What are you two bickering about now?" she asked.

"He's arresting Fargo and I need him here." Nathan told her.

"Carter did Fargo do something?" she asked.

"He destroyed Seth's speaker equipment."

"Nathan he has to go with Carter. Besides I think you should be thankful he hasn't shot you yet." She said.

"I see what this is. You're taking his side because you're mad at me." Nathan replied.

"I'm not taking anyone's side." She snapped at him.

"You sure , you are pretty mad that I haven't been talking to him. Maybe you want him to shoot me." Nathan retorted.

"You know what , I've had enough. I quit. Good luck Carter." She said and left.

"Are you happy now?" Nathan said before leaving too.

"What was that about?" Fargo asked.

"Shut up." I told him as we walked to my jeep. I was far from happy.

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When we made it to the office I found another surprise waiting on me. Seth was in a cell , Jo informed me that she had caught him trying to burn Fargo's house down. I had to hand cuff them to opposite sides of the cell.

The day got worse and worse. Jo had to keep the two of them in line with water guns while the phone rang constantly. People called about how they woke up some place strange this morning. I needed a break , I headed to Café Diem.

"Hey Henry." I said as I sat next to him.

"Hi." He replied.

"I wanted to ask you something. Everyone's acting strange , more hostile. Any ideas?" I asked.

"I'm really getting sick and tired of everyone depending on me. When do I get time to rest?" he exclaimed.

"See that's what I mean. So you think it could be some kind of virus? That makes everyone act different." I asked again.

"Did you think of that all by yourself?" he said rudely.

Before I could say anything else he was up and gone. I sat there thinking about what was going on. A breaking noise and a yell brought me back to the present. Vincent had just whacked on of the twins over the head with a plate.

I called Jo and started to question Vincent. Seems one of the twins complained about his Caribou. Things were getting worse. I had Jo take Vincent back to the office.

"How many of you woke up somewhere strange this morning?" I asked the crowd. Everyone raised their hands. Great , I pulled out the phone and called Zoe.

"Yeah dad." She answered.

"I want you to go home and wait for me to call you okay. There's something going on and I want you safe okay." I told her.

"But dad…" She started to argue but I was having none of it.

"You go home and keep your phone right…" I trailed off. That had to be it. Henry's new cell tower had to be affecting everyone.

"Dad you still there?"

"Go home and turn off your phone. Just trust me." I told her.

I got an okay and hung up turning the phone off. I headed to talk to Jo. I gave her instructions and went to find someone to help me shut the tower down.

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Allison had been my first stop , but she hadn't been home. I headed to GD , after learning she wasn't there I knew I had only one other choice , Nathan. If only Henry wasn't so pissed he could help. I walked in Nathan's office.

"I need your help Nathan. " I said as he turned and smiled at me. A little odd , but I wasn't complaining.

"I'm sorry about how I've been acting. I'm just scared. I care about you a lot and I've never felt this way towards another man." Nathan said.

"I know I haven't either and I do care about you , but right now I need your help." I told him.

"I can help you." He replied and walked toward me.

"Great I need…" I started to explain , but he cut me off with his lips.

I knew I should stop him , but I had missed him. He ran his hands over my body as he began kissing down my neck. I had to moan at the feeling.

"Nathan we need…to…" I tried to tell him.

"I want you Jack , I need you." He purred. His hands made their way up my shirt. I was trembling and I knew I had to stop him , but I didn't want to.

"Nathan we need to stop." I said firmly.

"You know you don't want to." He said as he palmed my erection. I gasped at the sensation , but managed to push him away

"Nathan , people aren't acting right and I need your help to stop it." I told him. He looked at me for a moment then he seemed to shut down.

"Sorry Carter , you know your way out." He said , damn it.

I left and drove to the cell tower. One way or another it was coming down. I parked and walked to the tower. I wasn't alone though. I have seen some disturbing thins in my years as a cop , but this took the cake. Taggart was standing there totally naked.

"Taggart , why are you naked?" I asked staring intently at the tower.

"I'm going au naturel. Being one with nature , it's a monstrosity isn't it? Goes against everything about nature." He said , okay.

"Unfortunately that doesn't tell me if you've been affected. Do you want to help me take this thing down?" I asked , he bent down and grabbed a chainsaw and I threw up in my mouth a little.

"Let's do it." He said and headed for the tower. This was going to be a long day.

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I got back to the office only to find it overflowing. The anger was flowing freely. I pulled Jo aside to update her.

"I took the tower down. Did you take away all their phones?" I asked.

"Yes , I'm soo bored though." She complained.

"It should have got better by now." I told her.

"It's gotten worse!" she exclaimed.

"That doesn't make sense. I need to talk to Henry." I told her.

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I found Henry cleaning up his garage. He looked up when I came in and sighed. I could have been mad at him , but he wasn't himself.

"Henry I thought your tower was causing all these problems , but I dismantled it and it's getting worse. What could be causing it?" I pleaded.

"That tower wasn't operational so of course that wouldn't stop anything." He replied.

"Are you sure ?" I asked.

"I built the damn thing so I should know." He yelled.

"Okay but everyone has gone crazy and I'm the only one noticing." I said.

"Well I'd say that you need to figure out what makes you immune." He said. Frustrated I went to check on Zoe.

"Attention residents of Eureka , this is Beverly the friendly town therapist and I have an announcement. I'm tired of listening to you bitch and moan about petty little things. Like Allison Blake , we all know that you feel damaged because Nathan Stark returned and didn't look twice at you. Speaking of Dr. Stark , you really need to stop being a pussy and tell Sheriff Carter how you feel. I mean the man is obviously hot for you , he never looks at other women." Beverly came on the town announcement channel.

"Isn't that your announcement device?" I asked.

"Yes I gave it to Beverly earlier when she stopped by. I was about to throw it away when she asked for it. If you want something take it , I'm done being relied on by everyone." Henry said.

"No thanks , but I need to go get that before someone kills her for telling their secrets." I said ignoring the stuff she said about Nathan and I.

I pulled up to Beverly's and heard raised voices inside. I knew someone was going to retaliate. I ran in to find Nathan yelling at Beverly. There was yelling and fighting and a gun. Finally it ended with me securing them away from each other. I didn't need them hurting each other.

"Jack you know we could find a better use for these hand cuffs." Nathan purred out and I felt the arousal soot through me at the implication.

"Your just trying to get me to let you go and I'm not going to do that , but if you still feel that way after this is over you can come find me." I told him and left to check on Zoe.

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I entered and was greeted by a dark house. I was worried , what if something happened to her. The lights flickered on , but Zoe was nowhere in sight.

"Zoe , are you there?" I asked as I walked room to room. Suddenly she flew around the corner with a bat.

"Jesus are you okay?" I asked , trying to calm my racing heart.

"Are you okay?" She asked still wielding the bat. I looked at it , when did we get a bat? Then I recognized it.

"Put down my autographed World Series bat now!" I yelled.

"Oh thank God." She exclaimed as she dropped my bat on the couch.

"What is happening? School was a mess , people were making out and fighting."

"So it was like regular high school then." I said.

"Exactly , but I don't understand what's going on." Zoe said as she sat down.

"I don't know either. We seem to be the only ones who are normal , but I can't figure out what makes us different."

"We're from L.A." she offered.

"That's true but we've been here for weeks. It has to be something else." I said. The only thing I could think was we were the only ones who lived underground. Zoe let out a breath in a hiss , wait a minute.

"Sarah door." I said , the door opened and Zoe jumped up.

"Where are you going?" Zoe asked.

"Nowhere. Sarah door." The door swung shut and it hissed.

"Did you hear that hiss?"

"Yeah , but what does that have to do with anything?" she asked confused.

"Sarah where does our air come from?" I asked.

"From outside sheriff. I filter out all impurities."

"I bet you keep track of every particle you filter out , don't you?" I asked.

"Yes sheriff."

"Was there anything unusual last night?" I asked.

"There was a spike in the pollen count between one and six am." She said.

"That's it , Seth's plants…Necro something." I said trying to remember when he had told me the name days ago when the fighting began. Zoe was typing away on the computer.

"The night blooming Necrosomnium Violacea." She said.

"Yes that's it."

"It's used as a sedative. Listen to this , hybrids can share the traits of their parents , but can also have unique side effects. You think that's the problem?"

"It's worth a shot. Keep your phone on , I've got some plants to burn." I said and headed off to Seth's.

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I started the flame thrower and called Zoe. I needed to know which kind these were before I destroyed them. If this wasn't the problem things were going to get bad.

"Okay do you see any flowers?" she asked,

"No should I?"

"There should be purple flowers if it's a hybrid." She said.

"I don't see…oh we have purple flowers." I told her as I saw hundreds of them blooming. I hung up and put on the goggles. I was about to start burning when the world went black.

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I opened my eyes slowly. I was laying on the ground and my head hurt like hell. I looked around and saw a still naked Taggart.

"What the hell Taggart?" I asked , hoping he could understand me with the mask on.

"You were about to burn these beautiful plants sheriff. I can't let you do that." He said. I stood up carefully.

"For good reason you jackass , they're dangerous." I yelled at him. I lunged for the shovel in his hands.

We struggled for a few minutes before I gave up and pointed the flame thrower at him. He yelped and ran off. I started burning every plant in range. Ten minutes later the entire field was in flames.

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"How's everyone doing?" I asked as I walked in the office.

"No one's tried to spit on me in half an hour." Zoe said.

"That's good , got room for one more?" I asked dropping the unconscious Taggart on the floor. He was covered by a blanket.

"Not really. Is that him that smells like that?" she asked.

"Unfortunately. I want him where I can keep an eye on him. Hopefully this wears off before we have to sponge bathe them. " I said.

"Too late." She replied.

"What?"

"Fargo missed bucket time." She explained.

"I can't go in public."

"Sounds like you did." I said.

"Is he the last one?" Zoe asked.

"Nope , there's two more." I said heading back out.

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"Doing better?" I asked as I walked in the room.

"You could have chained us to the bed you know." Nathan said. I had a flash of him handcuffed to mine.

"I was a little busy." I retorted.

"Thank you for stopping me." Beverly said as I uncuffed her.

"It's my job." I replied as she left , probably to use the bathroom.

"I want to thank you too." Nathan said quietly.

"Well you would have been upset if you shot her. Not to mention in prison." I told him.

"I meant earlier , in my office. You could have taken advantage of the situation , but you didn't." He corrected.

"I wouldn't do that , but it was the hardest thing I ever had to do." I told him.

"I can imagine. I should go home and get cleaned up." He said and got up and left.

I spent the next day relaxing like everyone else in town. They had all returned to normal and there was a lot of embarrassment floating around. The entire town was changed.

Taggart walked around bundled up , Allison apologized constantly. Beverly was absent from the crowds. Jo was more manly that ever. Nathan was back to avoidance. I figured it had to do with his actions so I left him alone , but I was still hurt by it. I'd give him a week to get over it and at least look at me.

REVIEW…I HAVE AT LEAST TWO MORE ALREADY WRITTEN UP AN DA FEW MORE THAT NEED FINISHING TOUCHES SO HAVE NO FEAR…


	10. House Arrest

DISCLAIMER -I OWN NOTHING…MALE/MALE PAIRING…YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…

House Arrest

JCPOV

I was dying , that's all there was to it. Allison had called , there was an explosion at GD. One of the scientists was missing and I came running to search the smoke and flame filled room for him. I somehow managed to find him and had him sitting outside the room while they tried to put the flames out. I felt like I was coughing up a lung. I slapped my cuffs on the scientist.

"You have the right to remain silent." I started then the one person I was avoiding came around the corner.

"Carter what are you doing?" He asked.

It had been a week , one long week. I had given him his time , but he hadn't come around. I had moved past understanding. Now I was pissed and hurt , the hurt was bigger.

"It's called doing my job." I told him before being overcome by a coughing fit.

"And he was doing his." Nathan replied.

"Allison?" I pleaded with her to set him straight.

"He's right Carter. He didn't do anything." She said quietly. That was it , I was done.

"Well you uncuff him , I'm done. Next time one of your geniuses blows up your lab you can deal with it. I…I might just help them." I said and headed home.

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I felt good , the best I'd felt in a week. I was on my second sick day , a day of rest. Beer soaked cereal , beer all day and I had a pizza on the way. Meaty meat with extra meat. It was a good day. The doorbell interrupted my peace. I had finished trying to find a nice house somewhere far away.

"Hey money's on the table." I told the guy as Sarah let him in.

"Can I use your bathroom?" he asked.

"Down the hall." I told him.

Zoe and I had talked about everything already. She had called me out on my reasoning. She knew that I had been upset by Nathan. I wasn't completely set on leaving yet , but it was an option. The doorbell rang again.

"Sarah door." I said. I wasn't expecting who walked in the though.

"I got your page." Nathan said.

"Did you hit your head recently?" I asked.

"What?" He replied confused.

"I didn't page you so goodbye." I said turning back around.

The doorbell rang again. That was getting old real fast.

"Sarah door." I said. Beverly walked in. This just got interesting.

"I got your page Sheriff. I came as quick as I could. " She said , avoiding Nathan.

"I have no clue what you're talking about." I told her.

"Depressed come quick , Cater." She read out then showed me the text message. What the hell was going on?! The doorbell rang again.

"Sarah I know I asked you to install a doorbell , but could you disconnect it." I snapped. This was getting ridiculous.

"I came as soon as I could." Allison said.

"What's the emergency?" Henry asked.

"I'm here Sheriff." Fargo added.

"Let me guess I paged all of you." I said , they nodded. That was it , I was about to snap when the pizza guy came out.

"Do you have a plunger dude?"

"Alright everyone out , now!" I yelled. They all walked to the door.

"Sarah door." Nathan said , nothing happened.

"Sarah."

"I'm sorry , but you can't leave. Eureka is facing imminent disaster." Sarah said.

"What do you mean Sarah?" Allison asked.

"Sheriff Carter plans to leave Eureka. I forsee that this will cause Eureka's downfall." She showed various scenarios of chaos and death.

"I hadn't decided yet." I said defensively. They all looked at me , Nathan with a blank face.

"What about vacation homes." Sarah said pulling up my recent searches.

"It was a fantasy , a rather nice one too."

"Sorry , but you must work out your problems before I can let you leave." Sarah stated.

"Alright that's enough. Where's the back door Fargo?" Nathan said.

"There's a back door?" Allison asked.

"Not that I've found" I said.

"No he means a back door in the programming , used to override in case of emergency." Henry said. Fargo was looking nervous.

"Tell me you put in a back door?" Nathan said.

"I'd really like to." Fargo answered.

"Just great Fargo." Nathan snapped at him.

The doorbell rang again. Fargo ran to the door yelling for help , _idiot_. Sarah refused to open the door after that.

"Sarah open a com link please." I asked.

"Hello." I said as Sarah showed Jo and Taggart outside the door.

"Hey we got your page." Jo said , her face covered in paint.

"That was a mistake. Sorry but I'm taking a sick day. "

"Then why is everyone here , the yard is full of cars." Taggart asked , damn!

"Everything's fine I swear. Just go back to what you were doing Josefina." I said thinking quickly.

"Sure thing Jack." Jo replied stressing my name , I knew she'd figure it out soon.

"So what now?" Fargo asked.

"We could cut the power , it would force the system to reboot." Henry said.

"Where's the generator Fargo?" Nathan asked.

"It's not your average generator." He looked uneasy.

They opened a hidden panel to reveal the freakiest looking generator I had ever seen. It was like something out of the Syfy network.

"It's nuclear." Henry said in awe.

"Wait , I live with a nuclear generator?!" I exclaimed.

"It's perfectly safe." Nathan said as though I should know that.

"That's what they said about Chernobyl too." I retorted.

"Well there goes that plan." Nathan ignored me.

"What if we overloaded the system?" Henry asked.

"If Jo was here she'd just blow her up." I said fondly.

"It might work." Nathan replied still ignoring me.

Henry pulled out wires while Nathan insured they wouldn't be electrocuted. We all watched as they jammed the wires into an outlet. The power flickered off and we waited in silence. Then it was on again and the door shot open. While we cheered our success the pizza guy was out the door. It slammed shut behind him and we all fell silent.

"How is it that in a town full of the world's smartest people , the pizza guy is the only one who thinks to run out the door?" I questioned the room at large.

They were all silent , probably berating themselves. Suddenly the screen flickered on showing the pizza guy running into the yard. I hoped he would at least bring back help otherwise we would be stuck here. A beam shot into the picture and he burst into dust. Oh God!

"Sarah what the hell?!" I demanded , that was going too far.

"Sarah's not here , I am assuming control of her mission." A male voice answered.

"And who are you?" Nathan asked.

"I'm B. R. A. D." It responded.

"Tell me you didn't build Sarah over Brad?" Nathan asked Fargo.

"It's done all the time." Fargo replied defensively.

"Who's Brad?" Allison asked.

"He was a program developed for interrogation , but it was abandoned because he had to win. His tactics were dangerous." Nathan replied.

"Great , I thought my house was strict before!" Nathan glared at me.

I walked over to the living room , Nathan following me. Fargo and Beverly moved to the dining room while Henry and Allison stayed in the kitchen. I needed five minutes of peace. Suddenly glass doors slammed shut dividing us into our pairs.

"Now what?" I asked.

"He's attempting to divide and conquer." Nathan replied.

"Is it just me or is it getting colder?" I asked shivering slightly.

"It's not just you , but it is just us." He said pointing toward Fargo and Beverly. They seemed to be experiencing extra heat. I couldn't hear a sound through the glass.

Wonderful." I said , curling up on the couch. Nathan sat stiffly at my side , we were silent.

"We're going to be here for a long time."

"Why do you say that?" He asked.

"We can't even do small talk so how are we supposed to work out our problems?" I aked.

"What problems would we have?" He asked , I scoffed at him. He couldn't be serious.

"How about the fact that we spent the night of the dance talking and kissing yet you act like I don't exist after that?" I snapped at him.

"Well , I don't.." He started but I cut him off.

"Then that damn plant makes everyone crazy and you try to jump me."

"Well , I was.." He started but I interrupted again.

"You told me you were scared of how you felt. I gave you space , but it doesn't seem to have helped. You're not the only one feeling like this yet you act like the world revolves around you." I ranted at him.

"I'm sorry , I don't want you to leave though. I just need time to work through all this. I meant every word I said last week, I just need time please." He pleaded.

"Fine , just remember you aren't the only one in this fucked up situation." I told him.

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NPOV

I spent the morning thinking about Jack. I had been such a coward. Now I was worried about him , he hadn't been to work for two days now. Allison was still mad at me , I would get no sympathy from her. So when my pager went off and I realized it was Jack , I came running.

He hadn't called me here , his house was worried. Jack was going to leave Eureka , leave me. I felt so stupid. All the fear and insecurity I had pushed him to the edge. He was running from me. We talked and I tried to convey my reasoning , my needs. He reluctantly agreed. Now we were cuddled up on the couch , trying to stay warm , to keep the lines clear.

I had my arms wrapped around Jack as he shivered. It was times like this that I questioned my own sanity. Why did I think I needed time? Maybe I was being stupid. His scent , though masked by beer , was weakening my resolve.

"I think he may be trying to kill us." Jack stammered out. His teeth were chattering together. I looked toward the others.

"That's it!" I exclaimed. Jack looked at me like I was crazy. I pointed toward the others , everyone was hugging.

"I'm sorry I was an ass Jack. I want us to be able to be together." I told him trying to convey the plan. He looked from me to the others.

"I'm sorry too , I was overreacting." He said , understanding the plan. We stood up and embraced , we stood there waiting.

I couldn't help myself , being pressed against him crumbled my resolve to work through my feelings first. I pressed my lips to his neck and he moaned. It turned me on , but I knew it was too soon for that.

"Don't Nathan , not if you don't mean it." Jack whimpered. I knew he was worried that I would pull away from him again. Distance myself , but I was done with trying to stay away.

"I mean it." I whispered as I kissed his neck again. He relaxed into me.

"We've resolved our issues , Brad , unconditional surrender." I spoke to the house. The doors separating us opened.

"Wow , I wish all problems could be solved like that. No one would need therapy." Beverly said , damn that woman!

"Initiating phase three , you have surrendered under false pretenses." Brad's voice boomed out.

"Thanks a lot!" Jack snapped at her.

"I'm sorry." She replied , looking sorry.

"Remind me why I stopped Nathan from shooting you again."

"Wait , what is that sound?" Allison asked.

"He's shut off the oxygen." Henry said.

"We really are going to die here." Fargo whined.

"Oh shut up Fargo." I said , he could be so dramatic.

"Intruder alert!" Brad announced and the screen showed Jo and Taggart in a tunnel.

"That's my Josefina!" Jack yelled.

A blast obscured them , smoke filled the tunnel and they were no longer visible.

"Or not." Jack said , stunned.

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JCPOV

Hollywood couldn't write this shit. We were held hostage by my house who had been taken over by an abandoned interrogation project with losing issues. He had cut off our air and blown up our rescue party. Not to mention that Nathan had decided to pursue a relationship. I wasn't entirely sure , but I wanted to give him a chance.

We all sat around trying to breathe as little as possible. We had placed pages from magazines in front of the air ducts to slow the depletion. We were running out of time. A loud bang caught my attention.

"You hear that?" I asked.

"Sounds like it's coming from under us." Henry said.

"Jo?" I wondered aloud , it was a possibility.

I followed the sound to the room with the freaky generator. There was a pipe running into the floor , I tapped out 'hello' in Morse code. We waited , I got one back.

"What should I tell her?" I asked.

"She needs to find a way to override the system so it will reboot and get us air." Henry said. Jesus!

"You know we'll die before I can tap all that out right? Is there any other way?" I asked.

"Crack pipe." Nathan panted out , huh.

"That's two words I never thought I's hear out your mouth." I teased before going into a coughing fit. I tapped it out , we waited.

It took a few minutes , but it happened. The paper fell from the vents and we all breathed easier. I tapped out that it worked.

"Intruder alert!" Brad said again , too late buddy! I turned to the screen that appeared and my heart dropped , it was Zoe.

"Noo!" I screamed , I grabbed the nearest thing. My autographed world series bat. I didn't have to think about it.

I ran to the generator and wailed on it. I didn't care anymore , not about the bat or Chernobyl. Not even the situation with Nathan , Zoe was all that mattered. The lights flickered off and I stopped. I heard an old generator start.

"Sarah?! Show me Zoe!" I yelled in desperation. The screen came back and there she was , safe. She was admitting to shoplifting , but I didn't care.

"Let us out Sarah." I demanded.

"I can't do that Sheriff. Eureka is still in danger." She replied , I wanted to scream in fury. Nathan put a hand on my shoulder in comfort.

"Is this really what this is about , Sarah? Or is it about you?" Allison asked , I was confused.

"Eureka is…" She started , but Beverly interrupted.

"Maybe she's right Sarah , if Jack leaves he'll be leaving you. Like Brad got left didn't he? You don't want to be left do you?" She said.

"I…" Sarah stammered.

"I'm not leaving Sarah , your plan worked." I said smiling at Nathan. He returned it , the door opened and we all rushed out.

I scooped Zoe up in a hug. She was confused , but I didn't really care. Everyone said their goodbyes except Nathan. I released Zoe and she glared at Nathan.

"Zoe , don't we worked it all out. " I told her. She smiled at me. She gave me another hug then surprised us both when she walked over and hugged Nathan. She whispered something in his ear and was gone into the house.

"What was that all about?" I asked , he looked sheepish.

"Just something between us." He said with a smile.

"So…what now?" I asked awkwardly.

"Breakfast tomorrow." Nathan replied.

"Sounds good to me." I replied.

He stepped forward slowly. I knew what he was doing , but it still surprised me. He bent his head down and captured my lips with his. It was like coming home , he was slowly becoming my home. He said goodbye and left.

I slept peacefully that night. In the morning I was anxious , this would be the test , if Nathan showed or not. I warned Zoe about the impending talk concerning the shoplifting. Sarah was being regretful , she wanted to spend time with us. That was out of the question , we did that too much yesterday.

I left the construction crew with her , a sky light was being installed with an escape ladder. I entered Café Diem to see Nathan waiting for me , gorgeous as ever. My heart soared , this could work. It really could.

THANKS FOR STICKING WITH THIS STORY…SO GLAD THAT I HAVE THE OPPURTUNITY TO CONTINUE…REVIEW…REVIEW…REVIEW…


	11. Happily Never After

DISCLAIMER-I OWN NOTHING MALE/MALE PAIRING…DON'T LIKE…DON'T READ…WARNING THIS CHAPTER INCLUDES GAY SEX…FINALLY…LOL…

Happily Never After

JCPOV

I awoke to Sarah's pleasant voice telling me that it was time. Time to face the music , my baby was all grown up. Zoe was graduating today. Most parents would be ecstatic , but I was dreading it. She would leave me all alone.

I heard a familiar groan beside me , well not alone. I did have the most perfect someone who , though sad to see Zoe leave , would be happy to have privacy. I rolled over and cuddled with my love.

"Why can't we live at my house?" Nathan groaned.

"Because your house won't have a break down if you leave it." I told him.

"I heard that Sheriff." Sarah replied.

"I know." I told her.

"We need to get dressed , graduation starts in an hour. " Nathan said.

"Do we have to?" I pouted.

"It won't stop it , she'll still graduate." He reasoned.

"Fine , but you're taking a shower with me." I told him.

"My , my what a naught Sheriff you are." He teased.

"Keep that up and we won't make it to the shower." I told him as I gathered clothes and headed to the bathroom.

Nathan wrapped me in his arms as I adjusted the water. We stepped in and I was pulled against him. He kissed the back of my neck , the spot he loves to torture. I groaned as I felt his erection pressing against my ass.

He ran his hands down my sides and I shivered. His right hand veered at my hip , grasping my hard cock. I moaned. I felt his breath ghost across my neck as he slowly stroked me. I leaned into him.

"Are you ready?" He asked , enjoying my torture.

"Always." I whimpered.

His hand wandered down to prepare me. It wasn't long before I was rocking between his hands. He grabbed the bottle of lube again that was always here and slicked himself up. He slowly pushed in , giving me time to adjust. I groaned at the feeling of him filling me completely.

"Damn babe , feels so good." I pleaded.

I put my hands on the wall to brace myself. Nathan grasped my hips firmly and pounded into me. Damn it felt so good. I was nearly screaming as he thrust faster. His hand came around to stroke me in time with his thrusts. I wouldn't last long.

"I'm so close…" I panted out.

"Almost…so close…ughh…right there…I'm…I'm cumming Jack.." he screamed my name as I felt him pulse inside me , each burst heightening my own orgasm as I painted the wall. I was whimpering his name as he continued to slowly thrust into me.

"I love you Jack." He said as he held me to him.

"I love you too Nathan." I replied and kissed him.

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NPOV

I loved Jack , my life couldn't have been any better. After I got over all my qualms and followed my heart. Sure we had our fights , but who doesn't. As Jack finished getting dressed I thought back to the day I asked him to be mine forever.

FLASHBACK

_I had moved in three months ago , it had been a little over our one year anniversary. Even with all the crap we dealt with all the time we still made time for each other. We were having dinner together , Zoe had left to stay with Pillar. _

"_How was work?" Jack asked. _

"_Well since you have to ask you know it went well." I told him. It was a bad day when he had to join me. That meant that someone had messed up._

"_I was a little bored today." He teased._

"_If it helps I missed you." I told him. He smiled._

"_I missed you too , but we can't destroy the world so we can spend time together." He said with a laugh._

"_I guess not. I wanted to talk to you about something." I told him , looking into my plate. I was nervous._

"_Okay , I'm listening." He replied putting his fork down. _

"_You know how much I love you right?" I began , he looked at me strangely._

"_Of course I do , what's going on Nathan?" he asked , concerned._

"_I've been thinking about this for a while now. I know that I just moved in and all , but I think this is the right thing to do." I was babbling , I had never been this scared. I was sweating bullets._

"_Nathan , you're scaring me. Are you having second thoughts?" he asked fear dripping from every word._

"_No! God , I'm doing this all wrong." I nearly yelled._

"_Then what , Nathan?" It was a plea to understand._

"_I want to ask you to…marry me." I whispered in my fear._

"_What?" He asked unsure if what he had heard._

"_I want to marry you." I said again , stronger this time._

"_Are you serious?" He asked , still stunned._

"_Yes , I am. I want to be with you forever. Will you marry me?" I begged for an answer._

"_Yes , yes, I will marry you." He responded with a smile. _

_It was a night of phenomenal love making. Zoe had already given her blessing. She could hardly contain herself as she burst in around six the next morning. I loved that girl to death._

END FLASHBACK

"Are you ready to go?" Jack asked , bringing me out of my thoughts.

"Of course , are you?" I asked.

"Well , there's nothing I can do so why not." He replied.

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JCPOV

I watched my baby walk across the stage. Holding Nathan's hand in a death grip , trying to hold the tears at bay. It was useless. We met up with her after.

"I'm so proud of you sweety." I told her as I hugged her close.

"Okay dad , I need to breathe you know." Zoe said , I released her.

"Sorry." I said.

"You did great kiddo." Nathan told her , she smiled at him.

"Thanks , dad. I'm going to go with Pillar. Will you take care of him?" she asked Nathan. He smiled at her calling him dad.

"Always."

Suddenly the ground seemed to shift , screams rang out. Almost immediately my beeper then Nathan's went off. I looked over at him.

"GD? We'll meet you later , Zoe." I said as we walked to the car , Nathan nodded.

"Wonder what happened now. I'll see you at the party." Nathan said.

"Of course. Be careful , I love you." I told him kissing him tenderly.

"Love you too , same goes for you." He said kissing me back.

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I made my way to town , Jo had called me to Café Diem. I pulled up and was at a loss. There sat my jeep , only problem was that it was taken by a tornado that tore through town six years ago.

"That can't really be mine." I told her.

"Either way it just appeared in a flash. The twins couldn't avoid it." Jo said pointing to the twins and their clones. With their record I was starting to consider taking their licenses.

"Damn it's mine. Look at the GD parking sticker. Ten years ago." I exclaimed as I looked over the jeep.

"I did tell you not to be out that day. Who thinks to drive near a tornado?" Jo said.

We had this argument regularly. So it was my fault the jeep got picked up by the tornado , didn't mean I was going to give in to Jo.

"I think we have bigger issues to deal with at the moment than my judgment ten years ago. Let's get this cleaned up and I'm gonna go see Henry." I told her , she nodded and I was off.

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When I got to GD people were running in every direction. I headed straight to Henry's office. He had taken over Nathan's job after we were married. Nathan thought it would be better for our marriage.

"What's going on Henry?" I asked.

"We had an alarm go off in one of the labs. When we went to investigate we found a body fused to the wall. Everyone's working on it." Henry explained.

"Well could it have anything to do with my jeep appearing in the middle of the street from ten years ago?" I asked him , he frowned.

"Maybe , the lab was empty before the alarm." He said , deep in thought.

"Have you identified the body yet?" I asked , worried about Nathan.

"No , every person had been located. Kim's working on replicating an image now. It will be a little while till we get an idea." He replied and I sighed in relief.

"Keep me updated okay. I'm going to go make sure nothing else from the past shows up." I told him.

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Life had changed so much in the past ten years. Nathan and I were happily married , Zoe had finished high school. That was just what pertained to my personal life.

Henry no ran GD , Allison had become Mayor of Eureka. Nathan worked happily in a lower position. Henry had married Kim finally six years ago. The real shocker was that Jo was dating Taggart. I ran into Fargo as I searched for some way to help. He was working on the jeep.

"Anything you can tell me?" I asked.

"It seems to be similar to Walter Perkins' machine from years ago. Basically there was a temporal rift." Fargo explained. Thank God I had picked up things from Nathan.

"So could someone have gotten to his machine?" I asked.

"No , it's been in high security lock up for ten years." Fargo replied.

"Could Walter have built another one?" I asked.

"It's possible."

"I'm going to have a talk with Walter." I said.

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Walter had been under house arrest to prevent him from creating another disaster. They couldn't reverse the affects his time on another plane had caused so he had to wear a device to keep him at his current age. It wasn't completed till he had regressed to the age of seventeen though.

"Walter , I really need you to listen to me. Someone has duplicated the effects of your machine." I told the kid in front of me.

"Ah , you think it was me. Well , I can't and even if I could , I wouldn't. it cost me my family." He said sternly.

"Well do you know of anyone who could?"

"Anyone with access to my original machine and a background to go along with it." He continued playing his video game.

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I was back at GD informing Henry of my findings when Kim walked in. She looked pale, like she had seen a ghost. We were walking to her lab when Jo sent me the results of the search of suspects I had requested. I knew the who now , just not the why.

""Are you sure?" I asked Kim as we stared at the screen showing the reconstruction of the body.

"I triple checked." She said quietly. Henry was silent , I stared at the screen showing Kim's face.

"Then that body is you." I said.

"Yes , I'm supposed to be dead." She said in a whisper.

"I'm guessing you already knew all this Henry." I said turning to him.

"I couldn't live with it. There was an explosion in your lab , we never knew why. It took days to identify your…body." Henry choked out.

"So you used Walter's machine to go back and save her."

"Yes , it was after I took over from Nathan. I didn't have the access before." He replied.

"If I had known I would have chosen someone else." Nathan said , walking into the room.

"I couldn't live without you." Henry said to Kim , tears in his eyes.

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NPOV

I understood the implications immediately. We had to stop Henry from saving Kim or the world would end. It also meant that all that happened since that moment would disappear. I would be back to where I had been. They were already prepping the machine for someone to go back.

"How do we fix it?" Jack asked and I sighed.

"Someone has to go back and stop Henry from saving Kim." I told him.

"Then what?" I had to tell him.

"Everything that has happened since that moment will no longer exist. It will be like it had never happened. At least to everyone but the person who goes back. They'll remember all of this." I said quietly. I knew he would go , I had to run Walter's machine and Henry could not be trusted.

"At least I'll know what'll happen." He said with a smile at me.

"This timeline may never be possible , everything could change." I told him with pain in my voice. I didn't want to give up our life.

"Hey what's wrong?" He asked me.

"I don't want to lose you. I love our life here." I told him.

"Hey , listen to me. There is no time , no space , no way that we don't end up together. You just have to have a little faith , okay." He said and kissed me tenderly. There was another shift and I held him tighter.

"Is everything ready?" I asked.

"Yes Dr. Stark-Carter." The technician said and I tried to hold the tears in.

"It's time , honey. Remember I love you so , so much." I said as I walked toward the control panel. Jack stood by the machine.

"I love you , no matter what time." He said and I forced myself to hit the button. There was a flash and he was gone. The tears flowed fast and hot.

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JCPOV

"Time to get up , Sheriff." Sarah said. I looked beside me.

The bed was empty and cold. I felt the tears forming , I wanted to go back home. I wanted Nathan beside me , in me , with me , but I knew it wouldn't last. The world would end , torn apart from the machine's effect. I had to do this.

"What day is it Sarah?' I asked.

"It's October 3rd , 2006. Are you okay Sheriff , I detect an abnormal tone in your voice?" She asked worriedly.

"I'm fine." I replied , controlling myself.

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I made it to GD faster than ever before. I was dreading this. If I succeeded , I was losing my future with Nathan , possibly forever. If I failed , I was destroying the world. I saw Nathan walking up ahead.

"Hey Nathan , have you seen Henry?" I asked feeling my heart break.

"No , I haven't. I missed you at breakfast this morning." He said , I smiled a little.

"I know , I'm sorry about that , but I have to find Henry." I said.

He nodded and walked off. I didn't know how I could live with the memories after this.

I found Henry running down the hall toward Kim's lab. I stood blocking him.

"Jack , move I need to go." He said urgently.

"No , I can't let you do it." I told him firmly.

"What do you know Jack?" he yelled.

"If you save her , you end the world. I can't let that happen." I said.

He ran at me and I grabbed him. I pushed him back as he struggled against me to get out of my grip and down the hall to Kim. I held him firmly and felt tears in my eyes as he screamed Kim's name. The entire hallway shook and I knew it was over. Henry slumped to the floor. I fell with him , my arms holding him as he cried.

"No! Kim. Why , why did you stop me , I need her?! Could you have let Nathan die?" he yelled in pure agony.

"If it meant saving the world , then yes." I told him.

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It was late , I knew that Zoe would worry , but she would understand. Not what I had lost , but my absence right now. I looked up as Nathan walked in the office.

"Hi." I said.

"Hey , how are you doing?" He asked.

I wanted to run into his arms and let him make the pain disappear. I had to remind myself that that Nathan didn't exist now.

"Better than Henry. " I said sadly , he nodded.

"Everything will get better. You just need to have a little faith." He said.

I found a spark of hope in that short sentence. Like a sign telling me that all was not lost. I felt a smile form on my face. Nathan smiled back.

"Breakfast tomorrow?" he asked.

"Yeah , I think tomorrow looks better already." I said.

"So do I , Jack. So do I." he replied.

For a moment the pain and sadness were gone. I just hoped they stayed that way.

FINALLY SEASON ONE IS DONE…I KNOW I SKIPPED A FEW BUT THEY DIDN'T FIT IN WITH THE NO ARTIFACT STORY LINE…NOW WE MOVE ON TO SEASON TWO…HOW WILL JACK COPE WITH THE MEMORIES OF HIS LIFE WITH NATHAN…REVIEWS ARE LOVE PEOPLE…LOVE ME LOL…


	12. Light My Fire

DISCLAIMER-I OWN NOTHING ASSOCIATED WITH EUREKA-I WOULDN'T MIND OWNING SHERIFF CARTER THOUGH-MMM…

Light My Fire

JCPOV

Today was a day of excitement. The annual viewing of the phoenix , the mythical bird that appeared around the sun during the solar eclipse. This was my second time seeing such an event. Taggart was telling the children all about the spectacular sight. I was on duty of course. Wouldn't be a regular day if I wasn't. Still I got to see Nathan and that was what mattered.

Things had been going well. We ate breakfast together every morning and Zoe was being nice. I still hadn't learned what she had whispered in his ear after our hostage situation was over. He refused to tell , saying that it was between them. I couldn't feel left out when they were so good together.

Jo was patrolling one end of the street while I loitered near Nathan. I still had dreams about the future. No one , but Henry knew the truth , that I had come back from a wonderful life with Nathan to a world where we were still apart. It was hard , trying to keep the present separate from the future that I remembered living through.

I found small similarities , things that I remembered happening. Yet others were totally different. I had discussed this with Henry. He had lived through the awkwardness once. He knew how to deal with the mind boggling paradoxes. I was struggling. I spotted Henry making his way toward me. I knew he wanted to talk about the things that I had been concerned about. He wanted me to forget the future that I had lived for ten years. I couldn't force myself to.

I had found Henry hold up in his garage , watching footage of the accident. Staring at her face like it was the second coming of Jesus. I watched Vincent serving up his five alarm chili. That man had a knack for food. He could do things that every chef around the world could never do.

"Hey Jack." Henry said in the solemn voice that he had used since Kim's death.

"Hi , Henry. How are you?" I asked. It was a stupid question , but I felt obligated to ask it.

"You know I hate trying to deal with this. I remember this so perfectly. How do I deal with it?" I complained.

"You have to learn that this timeline will be different then the one we lived. When you stopped me it caused the timeline that we lived to veer off course. Everything we know about the future will be useless." Henry said. I wasn't convinced.

"Watch this. See that man over there , he will trip over that guys hover board thing and spill his chili on that guy. How do I know that? Because I ran into him at the dry cleaners while picking up my clothes for my date with Nathan." I told him.

"Jack…some events may be the same , but the further we travel down this timeline , the more things will change." He said as we watched the Asian guy trip just like I said.

"I don't want things to change though. I like the fact that Nathan and I get married. I wish that we could have that life again , but we can't unless we want to destroy the world." I told him. I was beginning to understand the complexities that Henry faced.

"Time for the show everyone!" Taggart announced.

We all walked to the middle of the street. There were special glasses that enabled us to look directly at the sun without damage. I stared at the sun knowing that just like the last time I wouldn't be able to see the phantom bird.

"I still can't see the damn thing." I said. Henry glared at me.

"You need to be more careful. Anyone can hear you." He said.

"Oh my god!" A scream caught our attention. I turned toward the sound.

There was a burned body laying in the street. It was completely unrecognizable. I looked at Henry. This was so beyond disturbing.

"Okay. Was he near an open flame? Cigarette? Anything that could have caught him on fire?" I questioned anyone near him.

"No. He just had a few bowls of chili and watched the show like everyone else." Vincent said. No way. It couldn't have been.

"Vincent what's in your chili? Anything that could be considered flammable?" I asked. I really didn't want to believe that chili could cause such destruction.

"No. Nothing. All my spices are natural." He said.

"I'm going to need a sample anyway." I said.

"Fine. Take all you want." He huffed and walked off.

"There is another option." Jo said. I looked at her.

"What?" I asked.

"Well…" She said , pointing toward Taggart. Oh , that was so far off the grid.

"Taggart's freaky bird? That's just crazy." I said.

"A man burst into flames and you think that this is crazy?" Jo said sarcastically.

"Fine. Go talk to him. Henry can you test the chili?" I asked. Jo looked uncomfortable.

"What? It was your idea." I told her. She squirmed even more.

"Well , you never let me investigate on my own before." She said.

"You've done this a million times before." I said without thinking. Henry coughed pointedly.

"I mean. I think it's time you started." I said. She looked at me then walked off.

"I'm going to take the body back to GD. I'll let you know what I find on it and the chili." He said.

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I was going through ideas with Jo. She had filled me in on the information that Taggart had given her. The man was off his rocker. I was trying to find any reason for this freaky thing. The phone rang. Jo answered.

"Hello…okay…we'll be right there…That wasTaggart. He has something to show us." She said.

"Fine , but it better not be about that bird thing." I told her.

We pulled up to Taggart's and he was smiling like a mad man. This couldn't be good. I walked up to him. That smile scared me.

"I have found the reason for your burning man." Taggart announced proudly.

"Okay. What do you have?" I asked.

He pulled out a bucket and tipped it upside down on the ground. The nastiest looking crap came out of it. It actually looked like pieces of flesh covered in goo. I looked at Jo. She was studying the pile with the same disgusted look I was.

"Is that human?" I stammered out. The thought turned my stomach.

"Of course , It's skin grafts from the bio-chem burn unit. Watch." He said casually.

He picked up a gun. I was confused now. Why would shooting skin pieces prove how a man had burst into flames? He noticed the look of confusion on my face.

"Unidirectional meson particle emitter." He said , cocking the gun and aiming at the pile. He pulled the trigger and a beam shot into the flesh.

"Now the phoenix rises." He said. I stared at the pile. It was still the same nasty looking thing as before. I was about to mention this fact when it exploded suddenly.

Taggart looked proud. He was staring lovingly at the reaction he had just caused. I was pissed. Not that he had come up with this idea. No. It was because I had pieces of flesh hanging from my face. I was covered in the gooey crap. I looked at Jo. She was no better. We glared at Taggart. He finally seemed to notice what he had done.

"I hate you." I stated coolly.

"Your welcome. Mystery solved." He said cheerfully.

"Except why did it only happen to him?" I asked. His smile slipped.

"Interesting point." He said. Still that smile stayed on his face. I think he enjoyed the things he did a little too much.

"I'm going to go shower." I said. Jo nodded in agreement.

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I was trying to scrub every bit of human off my skin that didn't belong to me. The crap had dried on the ride home. I really hated Taggart. Zoe wasn't helping matters. She wanted to go to this concert and I was taking to long for her liking. She kept yelling at me through the door. Finally I was clean enough and got out.

"Dr. Stark is calling sheriff." Sarah announced.

"Great. Put him through." I told her. This set off Zoe again. That girl needed to learn patience.

"Can you hear me?" I asked as I dried off. All I got in response was a sputtering noise. I looked around. Sarah had put him on video phone. He was able to see every inch of my naked body.

"Oh sorry…Sarah No video phone in the bathroom!" I chastised her as I pulled on some pants.

"So anything new on the dead guy?" Nathan asked , still unsettled.

"Well , Henry's testing the chili and Taggart thinks that the eclipse caused him to burst into flames." I told him.

"That's impossible." He said , more composed now that I was fully dressed.

"He had impressive visuals though." I replied.

"I went through the phone records. Seems he was taking a lot of calls from a section five chemist." Nathan said.

I heard Zoe's impatient sigh. That was enough. I opened the door and dropped the car keys into her hand. She looked at me in shock. I stare at her for a minute before I gave her the rules.

"I want you home by eleven. If you're a minute late you're sleeping in a jail cell. Go it?" I said.

"Jack…" Nathan said behind me. I turned back to him.

"I'm not going to make her sleep in a cell." I whispered to him. He frowned at me.

"She'll end up there if you let her drive. She's only fifteen remember?" He said. Oh , right. Not that far ahead yet. Damn time lines.

"I knew that. I was just testing her. You failed." I said turning back to her.

"Jack there are a bunch of calls to a chemist in section five. Why would they be talking?" He asked himself.

"On it." I said.

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Jo and I pulled up to the chemists house. Dr. Matthew. It was a seriously nice house. The guy must get major money. I would love a house like this. Too bad mine would have a break down.

"Carter , do you smell smoke?" Jo asked. I sniffed the air. It did smell like charred something.

We opened the door. The smell grew stronger. I walked in cautiously. I entered the living room. There was a chair by the French doors. It had a burn mark. Human shaped. This wasn't good. I looked out the open doors. There was steam rising from the gigantic pool out back.

"That's not good." I said as we looked at the charred body floating in the pool. I needed to talk to Nathan.

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"Hey , we just found the chemist fried in his pool. There has to be a connection between these accidents. Have you found anything?" I asked.

"Well , I collected a database of employees who had contact with the first victim. Here , look." He said showing me a list of people with their pictures beside their names.

"Wait , I know that guy. That's the guy that the first guy spilled his chili on." I said.

"Well , we have to find him. He may know something." Nathan said. He picked up the phone.

"I've seen him somewhere before." I muttered to myself.

"What…when?...Thank you." He said into the phone.

"He left for the day. With a fever." He said. Great.

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"Jo be on the look out for a black SUV." I said into the radio.

"Why? What did the guy do?" She asked.

"It's more what may have been done to him." I said.

"Where are we going?" Nathan asked.

"To the guy's house. Wait , no. To the dry cleaners." I said remembering that I had run into him there.

"Why?" He asked.

"I ran into him the day of our first…never mind. Just trust me." I said as we jumped in the jeep.

I pulled up to the dry cleaners and jumped out. I ran towards the doors. I knew this guy would be here. He had to be. I was almost at the door when the sound of screeching tires caught my attention. There he was , walking across the street. He didn't look good.

"Call Henry. Get a fire extinguisher too." I said as I helped him to the sidewalk. His skin was beyond hot. It burned my hands.

"Nathan , hurry." I yelled as he started to shake. I watched in horror as he burst into flames before my eyes.

"Over here!" I yelled to him. Nathan handed me the extinguisher. I sprayed him down , but it was too late. He was gone.

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I was sitting on my desk. I hated this feeling. I hadn't been able to save him. I couldn't even figure out why he died. I was hating myself at the moment. Nathan had returned to GD. I was thinking over everything. It was killing me that I couldn't remember where I had seen the guy before.

"That's it!" I yelled. Jo jumped.

"What?" She asked.

"I know where I saw him before." I said excitedly. I was out the door before she could say anything.

I walked in Henry's garage. He was working on something , but covered it before I could see it.

"Henry. I need to see the tape of the accident. From the beginning. Before it happened." I told him. He looked confused.

"Okay. What does this have to do with what's happening though?" He asked. I waited for the tape to get to the right spot.

"There. Pause it." I said. He did.

"What? I don't understand , Jack." He said.

"There." I said pointing to the man who was setting the chemicals up for the experiment.

"That's victim number two." He said , sounding amazed.

"I think you knew that before." I said. He raised an eyebrow at me.

"What are you saying Jack?" He asked calmly.

"Everyone who helped set up the experiment could be held responsible for Kim's death." I told him.

"Are you implying that I am killing these people?" He asked.

"You would do anything for her. Is it so hard to think that you wouldn't avenge her too?" I said.

"Well , I never thought you would come to this conclusion , but you're wrong. I found a chemical in the last victims blood stream. It causes the brain to overheat and the body pays the price. Bursting into flames." He said. Well , I wasn't expecting that.

"I'm sorry. I just thought that…" I started , but he cut me off.

"Don't worry about it. What you need to worry about is this." He said and fast forwarded the tape. I watched as Nathan walked in the room. He talked to Kim briefly and left.

"You don't think that he's next do you?" I asked , horrified at the thought.

"Yes , it's obvious that anyone in that room was exposed to these chemicals. This must be why the explosion happened." Henry said.

" We need to find him." I said.

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NPOV

I was sure that something had been bothering Jack lately. I meant to ask about it , but this whole flaming people thing got in the way. We knew that the victims were connected. I just wish we knew how. I had been thinking about Jack a lot lately. I wanted to do something.

I felt like we had been moving along nicely after the psycho house experience. Now it felt like we had come to a stand still. I had been thinking of a way to get us back on track for days now. I had the perfect idea. A date. A nice normal date. I was planning to ask him after this ordeal was over.

It wasn't till after I left Jack to deal with the latest victim that I noticed that something was wrong. I was sweating. I had attributed it to the fact that I was feet from a burning man , but I wasn't convinced anymore. It felt like I was on fire. That it was burning in my head. I tried to walk into the hallway for help , but made it no further than the other side of the desk. I prayed someone would come find me.

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JCPOV

I ran to Nathan's office. It was like I could feel him right next to me. I had been so caught up in memories of the future that I had neglected the man in the present. I vowed to make up for it. To try my hardest to forget about the future that no longer existed. As long as I made it in time.

Henry and I burst into Nathan's office and I saw him laying on the floor. He looked like hell. He was sweating and I knew time was running out. I couldn't lose him. Not after everything that we had gone through to get to this point. Henry had him taken to the cryogenics lab. Anything to stop it.

"How do we stop it?" I begged him.

"I don't know. The chemical can't be removed. It's too late for that. His brain is frying and I can't figure out a way to prevent it." He said solemnly.

"What about short circuiting it. Like tripping a breaker. Would that reset his brain enough to stop the process?" I asked.

"It might work. We'll have to shock him though." He said. Anything was better than watching him die.

"Don't worry Nathan. Henry will fix it." I said. He looked at me. That look was breaking my heart. It was a look of acceptance.

Henry hit the button and Nathan arched from the shock. He was still for what seemed like an eternity. I was holding my breath. My lungs burned , but I refused to breath until he did. I saw his chest rise and I let out the air that I had held in. He looked up at me and smiled.

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Nathan had been moved to the infirmary. He was back to his usual self. He had surprised me when he asked me on a date. That wasn't how it happened last time. I had asked him. That had made me remember my promise to forget the future. I left Nathan sleeping and went to Henry's.

"I hear Nathan's doing better." He said as I walked to his side.

"Yeah. He even asked me on a date." I told him.

"Well , there's hope after all then." He said with a chuckle.

"I don't know if I can do it anymore. Living with the memories is to hard. I just wish I could forget that I gave it all up. Then I wouldn't be feeling so bad. I wouldn't have forgotten about the Nathan here." I told him. He looked at me and sighed.

"I think I can make that a reality." He said holding up a device.

"What's that?" I asked.

"It's a modified version of the memory device I created years ago. Only this one works on long term memory and can target specific events. Like alternate time lines for instance." He said.

"You want to erase the future?" I asked.

"Both of us can have the piece of mind. I understand why you had to stop me , but I can't stop myself from blaming you for her death. You're my best friend and I don't want to feel that way toward you." He said. I could accept the need to blame me.

"Who would go first?" I asked.

"I'll make it easy on you." He said.

I found myself standing in front of Henry. What was I doing here? I couldn't remember coming here. I looked at him. He looked concerned. Well , I was too. I had no idea what I was doing here.

"What am I doing here?" I asked.

"You came to tell me about Nathan. You should get back to him." He said.

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Nathan and I ate dinner at Café Diem. It was a wonderful experience. We talked about each other's pasts. He told me about his childhood and I returned the favor. I learned more about him and that was perfect for me. We saw a movie and I was surprised at Nathan's taste in movies.

We finished the night with a walk in the park. The way he looked in the moonlight made me weak in the knees. After the night was over he took me home and walked me to the door. We shared a kiss goodnight and it was the end to a perfect evening. I was completely and totally in love with Nathan Stark. It was a wonderful life.

WELL THIS WAS A HARD ONE TO WRITE…THE FACT THAT I HAVE CUT OUT THE ARTIFACT PART OF THE STORY MAKES THIS ONE DIFFICULT….I KNEW IT WOULD HAPPEN AT LEAST ONCE….I PLAN TO HAVE A HARDER TIME ONCE I REACH THE POINT WHERE NATHAN DIES SINCE I WON'T HAVE HIM DIE…I HOPE TO BE ABLE TO CONTINUE PAST THAT POINT , BUT I MAY HAVE TO END IT THERE…WE'LL SEE…HIT THE BUTTON AND SHOW ME LOVE….


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